The Clone General
by A.R.H. Writer
Summary: What if a Clone Attack Battalion had a Clone General instead of a Jedi Commander... How would this effect The Clone War, or the dreaded night when helmets of white marched upon the Jedi Temple... Rated M for language and dark themes.
1. prologue

Explanation:

This story is an idea I imagined one day in a kinda shower-thought scenario of a Clone General equal in rank and status to the Jedi Generals of the Clone Wars, and how this could affect the timeline. The only things I am doing to these clones is that they are experimental and a special unit of their own, kind of like the Bad Batch, but honed to a razor sharp point. They look like the normal Jango Fett clones, but are marginally stronger, faster, and more violent, but at the same time far more self aware of their situation and are less likely to follow orders of either Jedi or of the Senate, instead opting to the ideals of the republic whenever possible.

The names of the 300th Clone Battalion clone troopers and the color designs for their armor, as well as the names of the Clone General, and the youngling Aria, and other minor characters, are my creations. However, the races, locations, large portions of the dialogue and scenes and basically everything else is the property of Lucasfilm and by association Disney. I also borrowed a theme from another fanfic, called "Free from Force" by Haxong, about a certain virus that pops up regularly. I borrowed that theme and cultivated it into my story.

This is also my first fanfic, but I am not unfamiliar with writing. If anyone has an suggestions, or parts they like please comment.

Prologue: X series

Unknown Cloning laboratory, Korasa, Ten years before the Battle of Geonosis

Chief Scientist Nureion was satisfied. It would finally be time to reveal the project to the galaxy. She gazed at her precious children- she did see her clones as her children, gathering their armor and weapons in preparation for combat.

She was not as cold as her colleagues, who would try to toss out any clone that seemed deficient in the slightest way. They couldn't see as she could. Everyone knew that if a clone was not good enough to be a part of a boarding party then he should be brig patrol. And if he was aweful at comate, have him be a gunner, or a repair man. It was just common sense. Sending them to labor duty, like they did on Kamino, was utterly barbaric.

'And a waste' She would often think privately.

* * *

 _She alone was approached by the Bounty Hunter and a hooded figure all those years ago. The Bounty hunter was clad in mandalorian armor the color of a polished silver, accented by a deep blue. His helmet was not on, and he held it under his arm lazily. The Man in the dark cloak was far more interesting. He spoke with a deep voice that was clear, yet commanding. As he spoke, the slightest hint of a silver beard emerged from the darkness of his hood._

 _"I assume you have been brought up to speed on the Republic Project?" He asked. I Confirmed. It was then I was trusted with something extraordinary._

 _A massive cylinder, not the normal DNA sample casings, the size of a small drinking cup. No. this was gigantic, a meter high and at least a third of a meter in diameter. It was carried in on a slowly dipping repulsorlift tray, which could hardly contain the immense weight put upon it._

 _"This is a backup of Mr. Fett's DNA, a full sample, containing a few dozen DNA canisters. Should the main canister fail to produce clones and be run dry, you can send them these under this code frequency,"_

 _He handed her a data card with a long series of numbers._

 _"A good day to you mam," The Bounty Hunter said gruffly, marching away with the hooded man in tow as the repulsorlift tray finally succumbed to the weight of the gigantic DNA pod, crashing to the ground in a fizzle of electricity._

* * *

She didn't even think the Home Planet even knew of the pass off, and she certainly hadn't sent them new cylinders when theirs began to run dry, and the new batches of Clones left the vats sub-standard. She had instead tinkered with her ample supply of DNA, creating the perfect soldiers.

These weren't ARCs, with independent thinking or advanced skills, no. These were the ultimate troops, more on par to commandos, but with a twist.

She always loved the idea of mutations, and with her first batch, she couldn't help but play with the DNA. It worked like a charm.

Faster, able to run ever so faster than a human, likely on par with some of the most nimble species in the galaxy. They were also strong, if the pressure meters were correct. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the numbers, easily on par with a Wookie.

They were smart too.

Holo chess was a simple thing, they played it as a quick game between lessons, easily managing to best one another in mere minutes. She was not the greatest player of the game on Kamino, but she was a close second. Madame Bertoni held that honor, surprisingly. That woman would be destined to go into politics if she wasn't so damn old, and if not running for Prime Minister, again. But Nureion was bested almost every time by the clones when she went down to their quarters to check diagnostics on the computers and see how they were living. But the one time she did win, she learned the biggest flaw to these Clones: They were rowdy.

Rowdy is an understatement: they were incredibly violent and short tempered when they didn't get their way. The Clone she had beaten narrowly, XT4009, had let out a loud snarl before smashing the table with his fists. She was pulled away by an unrecognizable Clone, except for a single faint scratch he had down his cheek, but an otherwise unnoticeable difference separating him from his brothers. After three blows to the table he broke it, and with it his rage subsided, and he apologized profusely. But no apologies could heal her hurt pride; the Clones would never make it into the army.

But then she had an idea.

Armies need calm and persuasive commanders to keep their troops in line. She noted there were no ranks set aside for the command in the Home World Databanks, so she assumed the generals would be chosen from appropriate home guard squadrons, or else petty politics would get in the way. But if there was a commanding officer, and a general, that know their men inside and out and can lead them in a productive manner…

She scrolled through the thousands of files of individually numbered clones, when she stopped, and a small smile graced her face.

XT1093, the Clone who had saved her, his scratch the only feature standing out from his brothers. His file stood out more than his injury; he was obtained in The Incident, the surprising fight in the mess hall. Two Clones were poised to kill one another with shards of glass from a broken cup, when he rushed in to stop the fight. All others had simply watched, and he had taken action. In the process hurting himself, and he wasn't afraid to do it again when her own safety in jeopardy.

She had found her senior officer.


	2. Chapter 1: Privateers

Eyo Cloaked Writer here, here is the second part of this story. It is a re imagined Clone Wars Episode 119 "Storm over Ryloth", I hope you enjoy this next instalment :) _  
_

* * *

_How did it come to this…_

 _I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it was years and years ago. More recent than my Accelerated aging would suggest. The fall of the republic I served so well, the slaughter of so many good men._

 _And woman._

 _And children._

 _I do not refer to the fall of the Jedi; not yet at least, but to the war as a whole._

 _I invaded dozens of worlds. A handful of them our own, to free them from the Seppies. I saw the people smile and cheer at us, believing that the white helmets would lead to peace forever, that the men in white would forever keep the evil at bay._

 _Now, don't get me wrong. I wish we could do those things, but we could never keep the droids away forever. I wanted to help them, as best as I could._

 _So I did._

 _I helped them, I belayed orders to have our troops transferred to the far flung reaches of the galaxy using my unique authority, we remained as long as we could._

 _They were concerned at first by the sudden loss of white helmets and appearance of black ones. But the smiles soon returned. We helped their buildings, we gave them food. We gave them peace. I returned just in time to read my new dispatches. To_ The Temple, _to slaughter all the Jedi._

 _I remember the screams. Not of the clones of the 501st, nor of the Jedi Master's in their gasped last breaths as Lord Vader's icy blue blade cut them in two. I remember standing above her, so innocent and kind. A mere youngling, with tears in her eyes. Her name was Aria_

" _General" she had pleaded, "Help me,"_

 _Help me._

 _I lowered my blaster, my maskless face locking eyes with hers. Brown met yellow, human met alien. My finger was closed around the trigger, but I couldn't move._

 _How did it come to this…_

* * *

 _ **Ryloth, 22 BBY, The Clone Wars,**_

Anakin Skywalker stood on the bridge of his new flagship. He had to keep himself in place using the force in order to restrain himself from launching towards the controls and the computer systems to get the new ship fixed _just_ as he liked it. It was just like the _Resolute,_ just too… uniform.

"Sir, General Kenobi and General Windu are ready for you sir, and General Shard just dropped out of hyperspace, and is awaiting your transmission" A Clone officer said behind him.

As if on cue, five _Venator_ -class star destroyers slipped from hyperspace onto the battlefield. However, these were not the familiar light grey and maroon of the regular ships, but an unregulated charcoal black that blended to the stars like cortosis. General Shard was as unorthodox as he was, but the General had the luxury of being a _Privateering_ fleet, not necessarily a Navy fleet, but more lax on regulation. Oh how he envied General Shard at how _he_ managed to get such a lucrative post.

He tore himself away from the viewport and marched towards the holo pod in the center of the bridge tower. The shuddering images of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu stood calm and collected. Kenobi's hand rested on his beard in his token stance of tact, while Windu had his arms folded across his chest, a grim frown upon his face. A third image of General Shard's Clone Commander took it's place alongside the Generals. He was covered in gadgets that would be befitting of an ARC, with some that Anakin didn't even recognize. He had his hands folded behind his back, his face obscured by his helmet. From the discoloring of the hologram, Anakin could guess the Clones of the 300th attack battalion wore a more muted armor than the standard white, perhaps a deep green, or maroon.

"I'm assuming you _have_ a plan, Anakin?" Obi-Wan asked, gesturing to him with his other hand, looking expectantly to him but with a heavy look of playful doubt in his eyes.

"As a matter of fact, I _do,_ "

"Gentlemen, we have Twi'leks to save. Spare your bickering until after we have Wat Tambor in custody,"

"Thank you, General Windu." Anakin continued.

"My strategy is to let the starfighters run straight to the command ship, with the capital cruisers drawing fire from the escort _Munificent_ class fighters-"

"Excuse me sir, but the General has a differing strategy he has given me to suggest," The Clone Commander said, cutting the Jedi off and straightening his back even higher and looking to Anakin. Anakin looked questioningly to the other two Jedi Generals, who in turn looked at one another. Clones were never so forward to cut off a Jedi General. It was Obi-Wan who finally broke the silence

"Very well. Go ahead, Captain…"

"Commander, sir. Commander Tusk," Tusk replied, bowing his head to General Kenobi, before continuing with his plan.

"Our ships carry a post-experimental weapon that can easily overwhelm their ships, and instead of leaving them as debris, leave them as assets to the Republic,"

"Post-Experimental?" General Windu asked doubtfully.

"Yes sir. We encountered a pair of Separatist fighters patrolling near Ukio on our way from Kamino, on which we tested our weapon in a small skirmish, and are eager to see how it affects the Trade Federation Battle spheres,"

"How about a mix of the two strategies?" Anakin suggested, hunching over the pod and pointing to the holomap, where small triangles were moving to symbolize ships in motion.

"I'll send my Padawan's squadron into the battle to engage their fighter's, while you use the weapon on the escort ships. If things go wrong, say… we lose too many fighters, then you can use your new weapon on the sphere," Anakin said, looking up at the holograms watching the strategy.

"You have the go ahead from us, just make sure that the fleet is neutralized, we need control of the air in order to land our troops on the ground," Obi-Wan said solemnly, before his hologram flickered and vanished, followed momentarily by Mace Windu, before he said in a passive voice:

"May the force be with you, General Skywalker,"

The only hologram remaining was that of Commander Tusk, whose image approached General Skywalker.

"Commander… is there something else you need?"

"Not a need sir, but a request from General Shard,"

Anakin braced himself for it. He was likely going to get the good ol' pre battle do-it-by-the-book-and-stay-on-the-bridge-or-so-help-me-I'll-beat-your-skull-in-with-a-lightclub talk he was so used to by other Jedi Masters. He was used to it, as his unorthodox procedures had gained him a reputation that far preceded him. But instead, he received something unexpected.

"Well, not a request, more of an _invitation._ He would like to invite you to have front row seats to our new weapon in action aboard his command ship, _Fragment,_ " he said.

Anakin couldn't help but grin. He would get to explore the new vessel _and_ see things blow up? A quick mental tally confirmed it wasn't his birthday, nor a major day of celebration for the Order. It was just his lucky day.

"I would love to go. Admiral, do you think you can hold things here?" Anakin asked his longtime friend, Admiral Yularen. He nodded and couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face either.

"Go enjoy yourself sir," he said, chuckling lightly.

Anakin turned back to the Hologram of Commander Tusk.

"Please tell your General I will be with him shortly, I need to speak to my Padawan Learner before she goes of to battle. It is her first time leading a squadron after all," he said, walking away from the Hologram.

"Will do, sir," he said, before snapping to attention, and flicking into thin air.

Anakin continued towards the hangar at a brisk walk, envisioning the enjoyment he was going to have on the bridge of the _Fragment._ Now that he thought about it, General Shard's ships all had names suggesting they were pieces of something else. _Chunk, fragment,_ and he thought _Splinter_ were names of a few. Come to think of it, _Shard_ was a unique name, a very unique name. He was surprised he hadn't noticed him in the Jedi Temple. He shrugged it off.

"I probably saw him in passing and simply never noticed" he said to himself, reading some inspiring talk he would tell his padawan learner. However, the thoughts couldn't piece together, so he simply approached her as she sat in her starfighter and did what was natural for him as both an instructor and a big brother figure to her.

"Hey snips, this is it! Your first command, don't be nervous."

"I wish everyone would stop saying that!" She exploded, flopping back into her flight chair.

He internally sighed, _here we go..._

* * *

Anakin walked briskly towards the docking hatch, with Captain Rex at his side. He was wearing his helmet, and therefore Anakin could not see his face, but he sensed a great deal of animosity coming from him. No, animosity wasn't the correct term. Nervousness? Giddiness?

"Captain, you seem nervous. Is everything alright?" He asked the Clone, concerned if he should be aware of something.

The Captain's head lurched to face him, and he heard a sharp intake of breath through the helmet's vocalizer.

"Ah, no, sir," he started, but then looked towards the floor, looking sheepish, with a hand behind his head.

"It's just... General Shard has a bit of a reputation from us Clones, and... well I'll just go out and say it. I am both honored and thrilled that you allowed me to accompany you sir." Rex said, his voice now positively glowing.

"It's not a problem Rex," Anakin said, chuckling.

"But what makes General Shard so special? He has only been involved a few battles, much less one like this," Anakin said questioningly. He didn't mind that his Captain enjoyed tracking the works of other Generals, but it surprised him that it was one involved in only obscure skirmishes in the outer rim territories.

"Only a few battles _in the heart of Separatist territory,_ the Battle of Molavar, the Hypori Skirmish, and a small raid on Nime City on Roon," he reminded his General.

"Commander Tusk also mentioned Ukio, that's a fresh Separatist Convert! He must have smacked them down just as soon as they got their ships! Not to mention..." He trailed off, looking forward.

"What?"

"He's... well you'll see when we meet him, sir." The Captain said, snapping to attention as noises began to whisper their way through the docking bay doors.

Anakin was puzzled, but he turned to face the doors as they opened. He was shocked to come face to face with a Clone Trooper, Helmet doned and standing at rigid attention, with a DC-17m blaster rifle held across his chest. He wore Phase I Clone armor, and a belt filled with advanced gadgets. The armor, however, was uniquely colored. The white plastoid armor was the color of charcoal, with a muted maroon breastplate, and similar red markings surrounding the T visor. He was one of seven other Clones, six of which were similarly dressed and in straight lines lining the corridor. In the center of the two columns was Clone Commander Tusk. He wore armor similar to his brothers, but with a Commander's pauldron the same muted red color, and stripes down his arms that ended in a selection of gadgets. He could see a flame thrower, a Vibro-blade, and an electric current cable. With the size of the boxes, there was enough power in those to light a city block. He also had an antenna, similar to Rex's, and he also possesed a pair of red Jaig Eyes, and a black Kama with a red fringe.

"Welcome to the home of the 300th, General Skywalker, Captain Rex," Tusk said, nodding to them both in turn.

"Please follow me, the General is eager to begin."

He turned on his heel and marched down the hall, likely towards a lift. Anakin and Rex followed suit behind him, and the columns of troops all turned on their heels and followed them in turn.

* * *

Anakin suppressed a sequel every time he turned a corner, seeing completely non regulation but ingenious contraptions sticking haphazardly from control panels. TT-8L/Y7 Gatekeeper Droids secured restricted areas, with all sides under surveillance. He suppressed a smile, noting that the General seemed to be keeping a notice on Captain Rex's exploits on the Rishi Moon. He let the smile creep onto his face when he thought of both Commanders researching one another.

He almost ignited his lightsaber and started chopping when he turned a corner and saw a column of battle droids marching towards him, only stopping when Commander Tusk seized his arm in a vice-like grip. A droid broke off from the column and aproached them, and Anakin saw he was carrying a durasteel crate of yellow and green fruit. The Droid was painted a similar charcoal black as the Clones, but it looked more like it walked through a spray of the paint, and it had a large lone of the same muted colors traveling down the right shoulder to the end of the torso. Gaps in the paint revealed it to have been formerly a Commander.

[Q _uestion: Where would you like these provisions, Commander? General Storage, or in the Mess Hall?]_ The droid asked in a monotone voice.

"Just take them to the mess," Tusk said offhandedly, releasing Anakin and folding his hands behind his back. The droid nodded and fell back into line, emitting a series of chirps and whistles that likely alerted it's companions of their new direction.

"Apologies for grabbing you like that, sir," Tusk said in a low voice.

"We just reprogrammed them and got them working a few rotations ago, even longer to get them painted. And that's not touching on adding in software to let them do that clicking..." Tusk said, moving at a brisk pace to allot for lost time.

"How _did_ you get them to do that? I've seen the behavior in Vulture Droids, but not in ground units. Did you duplicate the programming?" Anakin asked, rushing to stand next to the Commander.

"That's exactly what we did, we just added a few more bells and whistles, in addition to duplicating the programming," He chuckled to himself, "Clicker is gonna like you, General. He is in charge of reprogramming and re purposing these guys."

* * *

Anakin finally broke. He fell to his knees in utter bliss at seeing all of the modifications the ship had undergone. To begin, the first 'room' he entered had been completely redone. Two computer pods stood where the hollomaps would be, while the hollopod was larger and more oblong. Furthermore, the catwalk of the bridge was longer, and the gunning trenches contained double those of the regular _Venator-_ class Star Destroyers. There was a figure looking out at the planet on the catwalk, but the door shut before he could study him further. As soon as he entered, he was greeted by the polar opposite of Commander Tusk. A _second_ Clone Martial commander stood facing a hologram of the battle. He turned to face us as we entered.

He wore similar armor to Commander Tusk, with Phase I Clone armor painted as black as space, but instead of having deep maroon accents he had muted blues on his armor and helmet around the visor, and on the tip of his antenna. On the left side of his helmet was a Mandoloran Diamond, a more modern symbol, but none the less a symbol of combat and honor. He also wore a black Kama with a light blue fringe.

Anakin was stunned at the sight of _two_ Clone Marshal Commanders under the command of the same General. But then again, this was an unorthodox group of clones, and the fact of it being a fleet of privateers did mean that while it _was_ more lax on regulations, it may need to be more harsh on discipline.

"General Skywalker, an honor to have you on this bridge, the same to you, Captain," the second Marshal said with the utmost respect.

"Thank you, Commander..." Anakin offered, outstretching his hand in an invitation to shake it.

"Ah, Captain, sir. Captain Clicker." He said, shaking his hand.

He jutted a thumb over his shoulder towards the closed door currently separating the bridge and the strategy room.

"The General is waiting for you, he's out on the catwalk and is ready to command his forces."

The doors hissed open, and Anakin was gifted to a surprising sight.

No Jedi Knight stood on the bridge, but an unprecedented _third_ Clone Marshal Commander!

He turned to face them, and they were met with an imposing sight. His armor was not the same as his brothers, wearing experimental ARC Phase II armor, but all the color the darkest black with additional shine, but with flashy gold stripes sticking out on his helmet and on his body. He was covered in just about every gadget you could name: The wrist weapons of Commander Tusk and Captain Clicker, and the additional Kama of Captains Rex and Clicker, as well as Tusk, but with a gold fringe. However he had a small visor, with an infrared scanner, as well as reinforced shoulders under a pair of bright red and orange pauldrons over each shoulder respectfully. Not to mention built in blasters on his wrists. His elbows looked harmless, but the armor separated in a vicious point, as did the knees and tips of the boots. Upon his back was a Jet Pack, and a Missile Launcher with several different missiles armed, from heat-seeking to concussion. He turned around slowly and deliberately, finally facing them with an eerie calmness.

"Ah, Skywalker. Welcome aboard the _Fragment._ "

General Shard was a _Clone?_


	3. Chapter 2: Sovereigns

_here's chapter three my dudes. -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

"Excuse me, but are _you_ General Shard?" Anakin asked. He heard slight movement beside him, and realized Captain Rex was standing as ridged as ever.

He heard the Clone snicker lightly through the vocalizer.

"I know, a bit shocking to see someone not wearing robes at the helm. Yes, I am the leader of the 300th Clone Attack Battalion. Welcome to the second test of our new weapon," He gestured to the space beside him to his right at the end of the cat-walk. Rex stepped forward first, and Anakin swore he saw a spring in his step, and honestly he didn't blame him. This _General Shard_ was the closest thing the Clones had to an idol, if not a superstar. Anakin took his place on the far right.

"So, what is this new weapon your Commander mentioned?" Anakin asked Shard.

"We call it the _Sovereign_ class Infection Array," Shard said, activating a handheld hologram to reveal a modified laser turret. It was a large cylinder, with support pipes in order to aim it up and down. At the end of the cylinder was a medium sized satellite dish.

"Looks good, what does it do?" Anakin asked, crossing his arms and looking out towards the Separatist Blockade over Ryloth. He was eager to begin the battle.

"It transmits a highly potent computer virus Captain Clicker made on Korasa when he got bored. It is a dormant virus at first, and allows us to monitor all systems of the target.

He folded his hands across his chest and straightened his back.

" _Sovereign_ I, _Fragment,_ target the rightmost Munificent freighter, monitor all systems and alter their scopes. _Sovereign_ II, _Fragment,_ target the Command Ship Battle-Sphere. If they are commanding droids on the ground cause them some problems, be creative. Fleet, ready weapons and have all fighter crews standing by, and have _Sovereigns_ on standby."

Anakin stepped forward and peered out upon the Star Destroyer. The new weapons were placed in the slanted portion of the raised bridge, where they slowly moved to fire at their targets. They fired a small beam which lasted only a split second, which looked surprisingly similar to a blast from a Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolaser.

It passed through their shields with seemingly no effect. No grand explosion, no nothing.

"So, you use this weapon to monitor them..? How does this help turn the tide of the battle?" Anakin asked, crestfallen that there was no grand explosion. General Shard turned to him slowly and menacingly. Anakin had to admit, the visage of a gleaming dark helmet staring at him gave him the impression of looking at a decayed skull covered with death.

"For a start, this virus allows us to tap into their communications and databanks, allowing us to predict all of their moves before they make them. Further more, we can control or confuse some of their key systems. Doors, hangers, shields, placing false targets on their targeting scopes, the self destruct sequence, even the turrets and deactivated droids," he said, but his voice showed no sense of anger or disappointment with Anakin.

"Why would activating the dormant droids be useful?" Rex said, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly.

"The virus downloads software into their cheap droid brains, and make them republic spies. An army of troops appearing on the ships. That includes all security droid forces, usually Super Battle Droids, Commando Squadrons, Vulture Variants, and Droidekas. All the most deadly troops of the ship under our control. We take the bridge, and we have a new republic ship repurposed from the Separatist fleet. It would likely be a great symbol of hope for those under the heel of the Separatists, and strengthen the republic numbers." Shard said proudly.

"Clicker masterminded this entire weapon,"

"How soon can these be mass-produced?" Anakin asked. While it wasn't in his taste of blow-it-up-and-watch-from-an-escape-pod, he understood its potential to turn the tide of the war.

"Sadly, never. A single cannon costs the same as an entire Star Destroyer. A good investment, of course, but very expensive. We were fortunate enough to have some wealthy patrons as we worked on the projects, and outfitted these five ships with them, however it would be very difficult to outfit them to other ships without the cannon." Shard said, his voice sounding as sad as Anakin was feeling.

"The cannons can be outfitted onto ships however, and fire the regular Heavy Artillery Turbolaser electric pulse. But the battle should go underway," he said, with an air of wrapping up the conversation and beginning the battle. He pressed a button and a hologram of Admiral Yularen materialized before them.

"Admeral, we are ready when you are," Anakin said with a confident smile.

"Right, sir. Launch fighters!" He called over his shoulder, and Anakin saw the hanger bay doors open and a swarm of V-19 Torrent Starfighters poured into space, head by a small crimson Delta-7B _Aethersprite-_ class light interceptor, piloted by Anakin's Padawan Learner.

The Battle proceeded swimmingly. The screams of fighters mixed with the drone of Vulture Droids. And it was then that they sprung their trap.

Four Separatist Frigates exited hyperspace, surrounding Anakin's ships, decimating them.

"Ahsoka, get your squadron back here immediately!" Yularen said, sparking an argument with Anakin's Padawan Learner.

General Shard turned on his heel, removing his helmet and bellowing orders to the crew, and Anakin caught his first glimpse of his face. It was similar in structure to a regular Fett Clone, however with several grievous differences. His right eye appeared damaged, and repaired with cheap cybernetics, with a patch of what appeared to be a BX Commando Droid face plate and photo receptor eye repairing the wound. His skin was of a lighter tone, suggesting he wore his helmet for a majority of his time. The most drastic difference that separated him from his brothers was the deep gash across his left cheek. A deep slash had removed a quarter of an inch of skin in a vicious scar, explaining why he usually spoke slowly and deliberately, in order to assure he was pronouncing everything correctly. And so other beings could be sure he was speaking basic and not some insulting word in ShyriiWook or Si Bisti.

" _Sovereigns!_ I want those frigates either under our control or destroyed. _Sovereign_ I, Signal the sleeping Separatist prize ship to turn coat and attack. Focus batteries on starfighters, transmit their readings to our gunners. Fire the main central blaster at the battle sphere. _Sovereign_ II, relinquish the sphere from your control and fire upon the sphere's second escort. I want any remaining vulture droids in the hangers in the air, make sure they are tuned to our frequency in order to avoid them being shot by our fighters _if_ you have the time, if not then belay that," General Shard shouted, before taking a deep breath and pressing a button on his comlink and shouting, his voice cascading through the ship like hell-fire.

"Launch all our fighters!"

Anakin watched in amazement as the previously hostile separatist ships suddenly changed course, turning their weapons on their comrades. A web of _Sovereign_ fire crisscrossed the battle, some hitting, some missing. He could only watch as a vulture droid spiraled into the bridge of his new flagship. The Hologram of Yularen yelled, then flickered out. Anakin watched as Ahsoka entered the disabled Star Destroyer, as one of Anakin's ships was destroyed. A horde of muted V-19 Torrent Starfighters poured from the fleets and began a clean up operation, destroying the remaining ships.

"I need to return to my ship and see if my Admiral is all right, and I need to speak to Ahsoka," Anakin said swiftly.

"Certainly, Master Skywalker. Would you like your Captain to accompany you? or would you rather he remain here?" General Shard asked, gesturing to Rex, his single eyebrow raised. Anakin gave a small smile.

"If you don't mind, I am sure he would enjoy learning about your new weapon and virus?" Anakin replied, sensing the bliss emitting from Captain Rex. It was enough excitement to rival a Trandoshan sighting a Bantha for the first time.

Three Separatist _Munificent_ -class freighters had been successfully taken by the virus. The new droid crews had underwent very light casualties, and moved to join General Shard's fleet, V-19 Torrent Starfighters docking in the new hangers.

A fleet of five _Venator_ -class Star Destroyers emerged from hyperspace to the smoldering ruins of Anakin's fleet, as well as the husks of the Separatist forces.

"General Shard, are you there?" Obi-Wan's voice echoed through the bridge's speakers.

Shard strode forward, putting his helmet back on his head, and pressed a small button on a control panel at the bow of the bridge.

"Yes General Kenobi. There should be no more aerial issues on your descent. You are cleared for ground assault."

"And, should I bother asking where Anakin's other ship is, why there are three separatist freighters with your fleet, or why he is in a transport heading from your flagship to his own?"

"It's a long story," Shard said, with a hint of exasperation, but with a definite flavor of humor underlying his voice.

"I see," Mace Windu's voice said, bemusedly.

"I trust you can handle the ground assault on your own?" General Shard asked, changing topic. He was relatively new, despite his reputation with his Clones, and did not want to aggravate his peers, especially not High General Windu.

"I believe so, but it would be most helpful to have a squad or two of your fighters to add a bit of muscle to the campaign," Obi-Wan said pensively.

"I will see to it personally, Master Kenobi. Happy Landing." Shard said, before lifting his finger and cutting the transmission.

* * *

 _woo thats the end of the Storm Over Ryloth re-make. I will continue with this entire ark, and if any of you have suggestions on which arc to do next, I will definitely write all I can up until Order 66. Until then, Cloaked Writer out._


	4. Chapter 3: Kairn Narra?

_Here's the_ Innocents of Ryloth _remake with my Clone General and his troops adding to the conflict. I will also write some battles and skirmishes into the story that were only mentioned in the episodes, such as Obi Wan capturing a large Twi'lek Desert in the southern hemisphere between this episode and the next, which will have a small story after this one. Other than that bit of food for thought, please enjoy. Cloaked Writer out._

* * *

 ** _Sky's_** _ **of Ryloth, 22 BBY, The Clone Wars**_

The Hanger of the Acclamator-class trandgalactic military assault ship was bustling with activity, with soldiers rushing to their gunships and readying AT-TE walkers for combat. General Kenobi walked forward, accompanied by General Windu and General Shard.

"The first trick will be to get our troops on the ground. Did you bring your squadrons, General?" Obi-Wan asked, entering a gunship with his Clone Commander Cody.

"Yes sir, I brought three Platoons, and I am landing several AT-TE's and a few new AT-SAT's from Korasa." Shard replied, gesturing towards several black gunships behind him, and a strange, alien transport. It was serpentine in shape, with repulsorlifts allowing it to move. It had several heavy cannons on the top, with armored view ports and very small amounts of troop space, but with a fair amount of defenses. It was coiled with the cockpit resting on the floor of the ship, it's flexible armored body filled to the brim with explosives and tibanna gas for it's lasers; the perfect siege weapon.

"Excellent. Nabat is the closest town, we can use it as a landing point in order to disembark our troops." Mace Windu said, his arms folded across his chest.

"I will see you both down there, gentlemen." Obi-Wan said, nodding to both Generals in turn.

"Certainly, General Kenobi." Shard said, inclining his head slightly.

* * *

The atmosphere was a light pink of mid-morning light. Four of the Republic Assault ships descended, one of them as black as a storm cloud, standing out against the light colors of the sky. A door opened on the Dark Ship, and a flurry of LAAT Gunships spewed out with the fury of a hurricane, blanketing the skies to clear any complications.

General Shard stood with his group in the gunship, briefing them. He had holograms of his two lieutenants as well. This group understood the margins of collateral damage, and this was no different.

"No explosive charges, only electronic pulses and plasma fire. No excuses," he added darkly, his helmet gleaming in the filtered lights of the gunship troop compartment. the troops bowed their heads in understanding, including the lieutenants's holograms.

With his troops settled, he set about readying his weapons. He checked his charge on his DC-17 Hand pistols, and saw his crew had followed suit, checking the charges on their DC-17m Rifles. turning back to his pistols, he saw they were at one hundred percent. He then moved to his DC-15A rifle, and saw it too was one hundred percent charged. He toyed with a modification lever towards the end of the barrel, near the grip, a trick that Clicker had designed. He hoped it wouldn't be that desperate to need it, but he knew it would be perfect if fighting became up close and personal. And he might be able to prove himself to his Jedi peers.

And he needed to prove himself. He knew they looked down on him because he was a _Clone_. Just because he was a highly modified and superior Clone, or a General and Senior Officer both of his own fleet and his own ground force battalion was not enough for them. He knew he had at least the professional respect of General Skywalker with Clicker's toys, he knew he needed to win over more Generals in order to at east succeed in any combat situation where the cooperation of their troops was absolutely necessary. He chanced a look at his men, his _brothers,_ his _true_ brothers. He shared base DNA with the other Fett Clones, certainly. But due to his and his men's modifications, the standard Fett Clones were less than brothers now; more like second cousins to be realistic. No, his men were his brothers. And if he was removed from his post, and some Jedi put in his place, his men would be impossible to control. They needed someone they could trust, someone they could relate too. To them, this was like a family outing, with their older brother leading them on. Of course, they weren't idiots, and they knew it was a war and everything, but this familiarity helped them cope. Add that, and he had evidently gotten a reputation for his small attacks into Separatist space, which was even greater news. The Clones trusted him, and if they trusted him, they would look up to his men too with awe and pleasant envy; at least he hoped.

He was jolted from those thoughts by a concussive explosion outside of the Gunship, rocking it with a wave of pure force. Taking his rifle in one hand he dialed Kenobi.

No response, _damn it!_ He tried, again, still no response. This time, he tried contacting Mace, and instead entered a holo-call already in progress

"-get those guns offline. Ah, Shard, good. Land your troops and be ready for battle, Separatist gun emplacements in the town are causing us issues, and we cant land safely until they are destroyed," Obi-Wan said, filling in Shard.

"Understood, we will try to land as close as possible," Shard replied, keying the Hologram off. He gritted his teeth at the fact he kept complying to every order like a lowly Marshal Commander.

"Get ready boys, and remember: only shoot the droids, and only use electric pulses. If I hear otherwise that trooper will be polishing all the Droids in the captured Auxiliary ships, and I mean _all_ of them," Shard reminded his troops with a deadly undertone. His boys needed a sterner hand in order to function, but other than that, their destructive force often worked in their favor.

The doors open, and he and his men rushed out, quickly joined by his lieutenants and their respective platoons. They joined General Kenobi at a small wall, where small turrets manned by B-1 Battle droids were sending a merciless barrage of crimson laser bolts into the woods where they were hiding.

"83', 7s', take careful aim and fire on those droids. I want them out of commission now!" he yelled to two of his troops. 83 had red and gold stripes along his armor, with a fine design of some kind twisting around his armor, as if entrapping him in his own armor in it's thorny embrace. 7s' was accented with gold as well, but with a large '7' emblazoned on his chest in blue. 83 also had a scouting visor, which saved him from carrying electrobinoculars. They saluted and sprinted to differing vantage points. Their genetic enhancements allowed them to outrun droidekas, and they reached a sniping vantage in moments. In just a few moments they silenced the turrets and the wall was secure.

He approached General Kenobi.

He was surprised at how tall he was in person, standing at eye level to most of the Clones. Most, as the 300th were enhanced, and were ever so slightly taller then the regular Clone trooper.

"You know, I could have just had my men throw droid poppers." he said to Shard, slightly disgruntled.

"This way was faster and now you have two extra droid poppers." Shard replied coolly.

"I am sure there will be opportunity to use them soon. General Kenobi." he said, resting his DC-15A rifle over his right shoulder and continuing down the street, his men, and surprisingly a few of Kenobi's own men following, assuming they were moving out.

"There should be a theater in the town square, that can be our command point as we prepare to silence the guns. I'd recommend a scouting unit," he said over his shoulder.

When the reached the Theater, they began settling their more sensitive equipment in, such as their long range transmitter and data-bank accessing pad.

General Shard approached Commander Cody, as he was speaking to two of his men.

"Commander, am I to assume you are leading the scouting detail?"

"Yes, sir!" Cody said, snapping to attention and quivering slightly. Shard smirked under his helmet, which quickly turned to a grimace thanks to his scar.

"I would recommend two of my troops to your detail, Commander. They were the two who silenced the turrets. 83! 7s!" he bellowed over his shoulder, getting the two Clone's attentions. They rushed to his side and saluted.

"You are to accompany Commander Cody in his scouting detail, understood?" he said sharply.

"Sir, yes Sir!" they said in a chorus. He nodded to them, then turned on Cody.

"Commander, a word in private, if I may?" he asked Cody, his hands folded behind his back.

"Certainly, sir!" he said, trying to sound professional, but the joy of speaking to the idol of the Clones seeped from his mouth.

"Be very careful around my men, order wise. You may need to be harsher then you would your normal troops. They are more suborn then your regular troops, but they should be very helpful." Shard said in a hushed voice, so his men wouldn't hear and take offence. He knew that his troops knew about their issues, with some noticing the problem and actively taking regular courses on the Galactic Holo-net on anger management, but some didn't, and he didn't want a fight to break out because of his men.

"Don't worry, General. Your men are in safe hands, sir!" he said in an enthusiastic whisper. He then turned back to his troops and readied them for scouting.

* * *

"Buildings, are just buildings. What really makes a town, are the inhabitants that live in it," Cody said, looking cautiously down the barrel of his DC-15S Blaster Carbine.

"So... what happened?" Waxer said, peering through a window of an abandoned shop, or home.

"Were they all... killed?" he asked.

"If they were... Then where're the bodies?" Boil asked, crouching and examining the ground.

"They weren't killed, they were driven from their homes. They likely didn't have a choice," Cody said solemnly.

"Likely as Separatist Slaves, they have begun slave trading once again in the outer rim industrial sectors. We freed a barge of them above Ukio, where we tested the _Sovereign,_ I'll carry that sight till my dying day. All those poor people, _starving,_ " 83 said darkly, shaking his head subtly.

Cody relaxed, seeing that the coast was clear, and stood up. He wanted to issue his orders before the dark reality got to his men. They were preprogrammed to resist such stresses, but it never hurt to be on the side of caution.

"Waxer, Boil, 83, you head down the south road, ill take Wooley and 7s with me to scout the north road. We meet back at Command at 06:20. Understood?" He asked, clipping his voice at the end to add an edge to his last word. He normally would have left it there, but General Shard had asked to push his troops a little harder in order to keep them in line, so that's what he would do.

"Yes, Sir!" 83 said, which was echoed by Waxer and Boil. The Trios split up, and began their respective missions.

* * *

"So, I gotta ask. Whats it _like?_ " Waxer asked 83 once the road curved and they were well out of sight and earshot of Commander Cody.

"Whats _what_ like?" 83 asked, lowering his DC-17m Blaster Rifle and looking at them, his helmet obscuring his face behind a mask.

"You know, working with _him?_ " Boil asked, his admiration bleeding through.

"The General?" he asked, lowering his weapon entirely and looking directly at them.

"Well yeah, what's he like? Tell us everything!" Boil said, continuing to look around.

"Well, to start he-"

He was cut off by a sudden shifting of rocks in a small alleyway. Boil motioned with two fingers to advance. The Clones all rushed into the alleyway to find-

A young Twi'lek girl hiding behind a rusty, empty crate.

"Ah, its just a little girl," Waxer said, lowering his weapon.

83 immediately lowered his weapon and took in the situation. The girl was all on her own, and extremely malnourished. She was likely orphaned, and starving. He reached into his belt and procured a small chunk of what looked like bread.

"Whoa, you get your own rations, too?" Boil said, awe in his voice.

"No. The General knew that the Separatist occupation was likely killing these people. He had the mess make hundreds of thousands of loaves of Funge-bread for any of the towns we visited. He figured, if we come across anyone, at least it will remind them of better times."

The little girl cautiously stepped forward, trying her best to look like she did not want the bread, but her stomach betrayed her, and she leapt forward and devoured the loaf.

The Clones removed their helmets, relaxing and smiling at the small child. She stopped eating, and stared in bewilderment at their faces.

"Nerra, Nerra," she said, pointing to Boil and Waxer in turn, but she stopped and looked quizzically at 83, her head turning almost comically in a confused manor.

"Kairn Nerra?" she asked 83, chewing slightly on her bread.

"No, no, no. I'm _Waxer,_ He's _Boil,_ and he's..." he stopped, unsure how to explain to her that 83's name was numbers, and how to not scare her into thinking they were some kind of droids; if she understood her.

"We should take her with us, she might have an understanding of the area, and it's too dangerous for her to be here all on her own. She's lucky to have survived this far on her own. Contact The General." 83 said, stooping down and offering a protein stick to the girl, which she took and devoured.

"Which one?" Waxer asked.

"Whichever one. General Kenobi seems the sentimental type and sounds like he'd be willing to help her. As for Shard, he knows she might lead us to the droids." 83 said, a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth as he patted the girl on her head. _At least he was saving one of them from whatever fate was plaguing their race._ He thought to himself.

* * *

Cody, 7s, and Wooley all crouched behind debris, watching the droid column advance.

"There is no way we can get past all these droids, even with General Shard's reinforcements," he muttered.

"There's always a way, Wooley." 7s said, keeping a keen eye on the droids to ensure they weren't spotted.

Cody had out a pair of electrobinoculars, and was examining the J-1 semi-autonomous proton cannon, when he saw...

"Wait, Twi'leks!" He exclaimed, seeing the beings. They were all half starved, and were in chains, binders, and other forms of bondage.

"They are holding all the survivors hostage, 83 isn't gonna like that." 7s said grimly.

"We have to report back to The General," Cody said.

"Which one?" 7s jokingly asked.

"Save the jokes for the after-party, 7s." Cody said briefly. In truth, he wouldn't have minded at all with sharing a laugh, but he didn't want the troops to loose focus.

* * *

Cody's squad arrived to see General Kenobi looking a mixture of strained and bemused.

"Cody. Waxer, Boil, and... 83, discovered a local that reportedly knows her way around the town. They may be delayed slightly in getting her back here, but she will be crucial to our strategy." Obi-Wan said.

 _Of course_ Cody thought. _I leave them alone for thirty minutes and they go picking up girls._ He shook his head. It was foolish of him not to send an officer with them, but what was done was done, and they will eventually get back here. He briefed General Kenobi and General Shard on the situation, with a hologram of General Windu.

"There are J-1 Semi Autonomous Proton Cannons here, here, and here," he said, pointing to separate areas on a holo-map.

"But there is a complication: the villagers have been rounded up and are being used as shields to defend the guns." he said grimly.

"This may be difficult, but not impossible," General Kenobi said, looking to the other Generals.

"I think I see what you are, planning," General Shard said, before stopping suddenly and shuddering.

"General? What is it?" Cody asked.

"Does anyone feel like..." he stopped then moved with a marksman's precision. He drew a DC-17 Blaster Pistol from a holster and fired at an angle towards an exposed area of roof. Everyone looked up in time for it to see the oblong body and spindly legs of a Separatist Probe Droid fall to the ground, a smoldering, spluttering hole in its photoreceptor eye.

"Like we're being watched," he finished, his blaster still smoking from the blaster bolt's exit from the barrel.

"Well done, General," Obi Wan said, surprise and admiration leaking from his voice. Cody wasn't that good, hell he doubted if _Rex_ was even that good.

With the briefing done, all they needed to do was wait for the troopers to come back with the girl. Cody and Obi Wan and a coin-less wager that they would be ten minutes and fifteen minutes late respectively. General Shard said nothing on the matter, but he had a small smile on his face, as if he knew something they didn't.

Surprisingly, they made it back on time. And even more surprisingly, General Kenobi and Cody were broth proven wrong. Waxer and Boil lead the way, followed by 83, leading a young Twi'lek child that couldn't have been older then ten. She was nibbling on a protein stick, likely from one of the trooper's rations. Obi wan smiled kindly and knelt down beside her as she finished her last ration. She covered one eye and ducked behind 83's leg.

"Lu nalle que juan'shilo?" he asked her in Ryl, pointing away.

"Uoi noye naya, von Narra, comi Kairn Narra," she said in Ryl, pulling on 83's hand.

"She can lead us through the catacombs to the droids," Obi-Wan translated.

"Catacombs?" a regular white-armored Clone asked.

"Yes, there are a series of tunnels all over the city, to be used in the event of a crisis." Obi Wan said, using the force to reach out to a nearby hatch in the square. The beautiful slab lifted up and revealed a tunnel.

"General Shard, I am going to need a distraction," Obi Wan said.

"Will do. Cody, I'll need your assistance in making the distraction. I'm sure General Kenobi can be without you for a moment?" Shard asked, hoisting his DC-15A blaster rifle over his shoulder, and being followed by most of his men. XT0083, opted to aid General Kenobi in releasing the prisoners. With his General's blessing, he fell in line with General Kenobi's troops as they clamored down into the tunnels, a dark spot in a sea of white.

While in contrast, Cody fell in alongside General Shard, a single pearl in a wave of ink.

* * *

The T-series tactile droid, TX-20, was not pleased, not even by 10%. The Clone's had been able to avoid his troops with extreme ease, and his beast trap had failed, despite an 80% chance of success. The Clones had somehow avoided every last one, only .3% possibility of such an occurrence, and they fled the town, hunting other fauna in order to fill their starving bellies. He now readied his defensive perimeter, and nervously contacted Emir Wat Tambor.

" _What-"_ Tambor started, before his suit interrupted him, spewing feedback from his suits electronics.

" _-is it?"_ He finished, folding his hands in front of him.

[ _I regret to inform you, that the Jedi have out maneuvered our forces. I am calculating a new defensive strategy, but the outcome of Jedi success is 49.78 percent, in their favor.]_ TX-20 solemnly reported. Wat Tambor looked thoughtful for a moment.

" _Maintain a signal, so I may monitor the situation, or else send your data readings directly to me. If and when you are terminated, I will send hyena bombers to destroy the town, removing the Clones."_ Tambor said.

[ _Certainly,_ m _y lord. There is an additional complication,]_ TX-20 pressed a button to share a hologram with the Emir.

[ _This was the last image captured by one of our probe droids. It appears, that this unorthodox approach, is being lead by a Clone General.]_ TX-20 said.

" _A Clone General? The positions of General are almost entirely, exclusively, held by Jedi Knights. No Clone has such a position."_ Tambor said firmly.

[ _Unfortunately, our data-banks do report of an unknown Clone group, offensively striking into Separatist space. They were lead by a Clone, who matches this trooper's description, and behavior.]_ TX-20 replied, pressing a button, sending a flurry of information to his Emir.

" _Do what you have to. Use the Twi'leks as personal shields for your droids if you have to, just stop them, or hold them down as long as possible as we ready our bombers."_ Tambor said, clenching a fist at the droid.

[ _By your command,]_ The droid replied, keying off the hologram, and approaching a Separatist AAT hover tank.

* * *

Shard crouched down and peered around a corner. Separatist forces had set up mediocre defenses of the pass into the canyon where the J-1 Semi-Autonomous Proton Cannons were positioned. The defenses were a collection of droids and a single droid tank.

"Let's go," Shard said to his troops running and opening fire. He let out a spray of plasma fire, destroying the commanding battle droid at the top of the tank's main guns, then focused on the ground troops, finding cover. Cody hurled a thermal detonator towards the now open hatch of the turret gun. The tank exploded in a blaze of fire and light.

"Night Platoon, charge!" General Shard said, standing and flipping the lever at the end of his DT-15A blaster rifle. A long, thin vibro blade jutted out as a bayonet blade, a relic from a bygone age when primitives used sulfur charges to propel spheres of pure iron and steel out of hand-cannons, and attached blades to these small cannons for hand-to-hand combat.

"You're not _serious_ , are you General?" Cody yelled after the General, too late as he leapt past his cover and began his dance.

He moved with the grace of a Jedi, slicing, smashing, pulling, sprinting. He ran a droid through with his blaster then knelt, blasting it with the mussel so close the droid exploded forward in a fireball, sending molten debris at a wave of droids. He then hurled his blaster like a spear, and impaled a B-2 Super Battle droid, the dark grey body coursing with electric discharge.

He then drew pistols and fought in a manor Cody had never seen. He fired quickly and over his arms as Rex did, but he used his ARC gadgets to good use. He fired blaster-shots from his wrists, often tearing the droids frail bodies and causing them to simply collapse from leaking fuel and tabanna. He let flames scorch nearby units, overloading their sensors and rendering them blind to Clone blasters. A single droid remained behind General shard, sparking and fizzing. It had been grazed enough by the Vibro Blade to have been damaged and floored, but it raised it's blaster to kill the General. Acting fast, Cody jumped forward, blasting the droid five times in the chest, much to the surprise of General Shard. He pulled his rifle from the body of the Super Battle Droid, and then moved to Cody and gave him an approving pat on the shoulder.

The steady hum of more tanks sounded behind them, and they turned to see two more AAT Separatist tanks approaching, one with a T-series Tactical Droid sitting in the turret of one.

"Fall back! Fall back!" General Shard shouted, as a blast narrowly missed him and Cody.

Cody hoped General Kenobi was having an easier time then they were.

* * *

Waxer, Boil, a handful of troopers, and 83, all emerged from the cavern into the droid brig. Two sentry droids stood watch, likely to keep any prisoners from escaping through the tunnels they just emerged from. They caught a whisper of conversation; a third droid, in one of the cells, to the guards.

[- _the worst job in the Droid Army!_ ] the droid said miserably. It seems that the commander wanted every Twi'lek used for shield duty, and not a single one would be spared for cleaning dung from the cages. Obi-Wan ignited his lightsaber and cut the guards in two, and used the force to close the door, sealing the droid inside. The droid simply looked down dejectedly. They moved quickly and quietly, freeing the prisoners and allowing them into the cave to hide. He smiled when Numa's father approached her and embraced her in a tight hug. Obi-Wan saw General Shard's attack, and was amazed by his combat prowess. It was _beautiful,_ in a dark, violent way. He made a mental note to spar with him when he got back to the space.

When he saw the two tanks converging on them, he knew he had to act.

"Waxer, Boil, with me! We need to commandeer one of those guns. 83, take these men and have them assist you in loading and piloting the other Proton Cannon," Obi-Wan yelled to his men, and they scrambled to carry out their orders. 83 rammed the back of his blaster into the head of the Droid Pilot of the closest J-1 Semi-Autonomous Proton Cannon, while the Clones took care of the escort. They loaded a shell, while Obi-Wan took a cannon himself, with Waxer and Boil loading a shell. They fired moments after one another, aiming for ammunition cashes, and destroying the other two pairs of cannons simultaneously. They then turned to the tanks. Obi-Wan shot first, destroying the T-series Tactical Unit's escort. But 83 missed, the shot coming up short in his panic to fire. The turret fired, at the cannon's, requiring them to leap clear of the explosion. Obi-Wan leapt with ease, but 83 did not.

As he moved to jump, his food snagged on the harsh seat. He lifted it up and out of it's confines, and was about to jump-

When the droid fired, and destroyed the cannon; vaporizing the compassionate Clone instantly. All that remained was his shoulder pad, and his smoldering helmet; blackened this time with char, not finish.

* * *

If TX-20 could have smiled, his face plate would have been grinning like a skull. He had somehow managed to vanquish the Clone General, the Jedi, and keep the prisoners alive for labor.

He then felt something strange, an alien feeling to him. It... _hurt_ , He ran diagnostics, but found no error to speak of. No, that _was_ the error, systems were being overridden.

Suddenly he began thinking politically. This was wrong. All of it. This meaningless slaughter, when they knew they had the advantage. And the bombers were on the way. _Tambor, that-_ he searched for the correct expletive. _That fucking coward._ If he couldn't have it, no one could. In a realistic war, scorched earth campaigns were incredibly unrealistic, especially for a faction such as the techno union. He had acted dishonorably in the Separatist Droid Army, this was all wrong. He needed to redeem himself.

"So, are you considering joining the Republic?" a slightly mechanized voice said behind him. He whirled around to see a pair of dark, dusty shoes standing on the edge of his turret. He looked up, and saw none other than the Clone General standing above him, Data pad in hand.

"Call off the bombers, and confirm the Clones were killed. You will be at peace." Shard ordered the now reprogrammed TX-20.

[ _By your command_ ] the droid said hollowly, before punching in buttons to contact Tambor.

Shard dropped to a crouch and clamored off of the tank, in order to stay both out of shot and to hear what they would say.

" _What is the, situation?"_ Tambor asked the droid.

[ _The Clones have been eliminated, the Commanders are dead, and the Jedi has been vaporized_ ] TX-20 said, reciting what had been at least the droid's original plan.

"V _ery good. I will cease monitoring the area. My hyena bombers are needed in space; a small fleet of Separatist ships has arrived to aid us."_

[ _Understood, my lord. I will remain here._ ] The droid replied, shutting down the transmission.

[ _I do not feel at pea-_ ] TX-20 began, before being cut off by error messages flashing into his vision, and his vision screens flickering.

Shard ripped out a Data Spike from the droid's head, causing sparks to overload from the gaping hole. The droid stumbled from the top the tank to the earth, fanning it's head. It was then that the villagers received the vengeance. After lending aid to General Kenobi and to the wounded troopers, they rushed the droid commander, punching, beating, kicking, and eventually decapitating the droid, wires trailing from the head like entrails.

They only ceased as the Acclamator-class trandgalactic military assault ships began to blanket the sky, landing just outside the village.

Armored AT-TE walkers, both regular colored and a muted black, marched from the hulls of the ships. A half dozen AT-SAT slithered out from the hold as well, swaying just above the ground.

Mace Windu stood awaiting them.

"Excelent work in capturing the settlement, General Kenobi. And General Shard, that was some quick thinking on your part, good job." Mace said, smiling a half smile to Clone.

Good enough for him.

Waxer and Boil were wishing the young girl, whom they now knew as Numa, goodbye. She continuously called out to them, cslling them Nerra, and Kairn Nerra in a questioning manor.

"Sir, what is that she keeps calling us?" Waxer asked General Kenobi.

'Nerra. It means 'Brother'. The other word is strange though, it means 'Dark'," he said, confusion written upon his face.

"She was seemingly very attached to 83, sir," Boil said sadly. Obi-Wan nodded.

"Dark Brother. Did you find his body, General? I am certain we could have found time for a burial. You and your men are one of a kind." he said, smiling. Shard smiled lightly under his helmet. He had won over Kenobi. The smile faltered when he remembered that he didn't.

"There was no body, only a scrap of shoulder pad and a helmet, sadly. Not enough to bury."

He debated going back to get it. But he did not want to keep the army waiting. He was sure it would end up somewhere safe, in the hands of someone who respected the republic, and those who fought for her.

* * *

 _ **2 BBY, Surface of Ryloth, Nabat**_

It was dusk when the Lambda-class t-4a shuttle landed. Like a white avian landing gracefully into it's nest, it entered the canyon smoothly. The door slowly lowered, jets of steam cooling it's engines, as a swarm of figures in white armor poured from the ship. Once white boots had also marched here, but not with the malicious intent of these men. Pale boots stomped through the ruined village, their helmets a gleaming white, and their eyes a dark void. There were dozens of them, scattered throughout the canyon like acne on an adolescents face. They were followed by two figures, a figure in grey, and a figure in white.

The man in grey was fidgety, jumping at the slightest gust of wind at his hair, but also firm in his resolve.

"Sir, we should leave this place. It has been abandoned for years, no one lives here. It is probably overrun with Gutkurr." The man said distasteful. He wore a grey uniform of the all-powerful Empire he represented. The rank tile on his chest showed he was a Captain, it's squares showing wear and tear from the dust of the planet.

"Come now, Slavin, have you no interest in the history of the men you face?" The man's superior said, reaching down to grasp something.

"All I know is this used to be a staging area during the Clone Wars. What of it, sir?" Captain Slavin asked, irritated, but not so irritated to not respect protocol.

"It holds more value than you realize," The superior officer said, grasping something in his hands and standing.

Grand Admiral Thrawn turned to face the Captain, with a dark shoulder pad in his hands. It was blackened, partially by an explosion that long since ceased, but partially from a decorative finish, if the old chips of paint on the ground were any indication. His crimson eyes widened, as he brushed past the Captain and seized what looked like an unassuming dark rock. He lifted it carefully, unearthing a decades worth of dust.

"What _is_ that?" Slavin asked, looking over Thrawn's shoulder.

"A Phase I Clone Trooper helmet, and shoulder pad, of the Three Hundredth Clone Attack Battalion." He gave a small smile.

"Most _fascinating_..."

* * *

 _woo that's all for this one. This took a while longer to make, so I am sorry for the delay. I will write a mini-episode of him and Kenobi taking the Jixuan Desert, and then aiding Windu in the episode of_ Liberty of Ryloth. _Thank you very much for reading, and leave a comment with any ideas for the next story ark I could fit these guys into. I am considering a duel between The Clone General and The Droid General in the future, hu hu hu hu... anyways Cloaked Writer out._


	5. Chapter 4: The Battle of Jixuan Desert

_This is a bit of a free-shot at what could have happened at the Jixuan Desert during Obi-Wan Kenobi's campaign to capture the southern hemisphere. This was only mentioned in a line by Mace Windu in a hologram scene where Cham Syndulla's name was heard first in a holographic briefing with Senator Taa, Chancelor Palpatine, and Admiral Yularen. I hope you enjoy; Cloaked Writer out._

* * *

 ** _Ryloth, Jixuan Desert, 22BBY_**

Shard had endured heat in the simulations, and endured the figurative 'heat of battle', but the Heat of the Jixuan Desert in summer was borderline insane. The sand beneath his boots crunched as if he were shattering chunks of glass that had formed from the melting of the orange sands into glass-works.

General Kenobi wore a shawl over his head and face, leaving only a slit of space for his eyes to peer through in order to protect his face and head from the heat and from the sands.

"The City of Dumash should be just over those dunes!" He shouted back to him.

"Let's get into the AT-SATs then, they can scout ahead and move faster then the regular walkers!" He shouted back to him. Shard saw him nod, and that was confirmation enough for him. Black armor had it's perks, but _black_ armor with a _black_ body glove with a _black_ blaster in the middle of a desert was murder.

He climbed the ladder to one of the AT-SAT's cabins. It was a small thing, with eight seats including the pilot and gunner's seats, a Holo-Pod, and a small holo-map installed, in order to measure locations.

He heard clanging footsteps behind me, and assumed it was just a Clone looking for a seat.

"Are we ready, General?" a smooth voice said. Shard turned around, and was surprised to find General Kenobi unwrapping his shawl and sitting down with a hunch in one of the seats.

"We are just gathering our last scouting detail, and we will be able to go."

A handful of white and black figures appeared over a sand dune.

"That must be them," Shard noted. He pressed a button on his wrist, and hailed one of his men in the group.

"Get those boys into a transport, we are getting ready to leave."

He lifted his finger from his wrist, then strode to the Holo-pod, pressing a few buttons and activating it.

"Do you have a plan, General?" Shard asked his peer.

"Not yet, do you?" Obi-Wan asked, pouring a small amount of water into his hair to cool himself down.

"Somewhat... more or less. Our scout teams found the city, but there are some serious issues."

"Such as?" The General asked, not looking up.

General Shard pressed a few buttons, and a map of the City sprung up. out of the corner of his eye, he saw the last of the scouting groups had reached their walkers and were secure. He keyed an order to stand by.

"To start, they have the high ground. A steep hill- no, _mountain,_ in the center of the desert. The only way in or out is through a trench, and then a massive series of stairs. Both of which are armed with heavy weapons."

"I think I can figure out a way through this," Obi-Wan began, but Shard spoke again, unintentionally cutting him off.

"They have more then this. This was the heart of the separatist invasion force when they landed. The City is surrounded by three Separatist strongholds, armed with, if our scanners are correct, Hyena bombers and Vulture droids, as well as entire battalions of battle droids, in addition to the forces garrisoned inside the City."

"Even with these siege weapons, I don't know if we have the men to do this," Obi-Wan said skeptically, stroking his beard.

"Fortunately, I brought reinforcements." Shard said. He pressed a button, and a surprising sight appeared in the form of a Hologram. A column of battle droids, super battle droids, and AAT Tanks materialized in blue images.

"Droids?" Obi-Wan asked, confused.

"The captured droid ships had forces, and landing craft. The virus allowed us to have control over all aspects of the ship, including the deactivated droids. We are ready to land droids here. They will give us the necessary muscle and allow them to be scrapped in our battles, and let us keep our numbers." Shard said, folding his hands behind his back.

"I am finding an issue with the effect we will have when battle droids in the city are replaced with more battle droids, Shard." Obi-Wan said, frowning. Shard nodded, frowning. His right hand unconsciously reached for his face, where the BX Series Commando Droid face plate and photo receptor had been fused to his face where his eye was gone, and the deep slash on his face.

"I am sure we can... arrange for the droids to not be used in the battle for the city, or at least not directly aid our defense. I'll also need to wear my helmet, in order not to frighten them with my... injuries." He said stiffly, but his voice held a lining of sorrow. Shard did not want to be feared. He wanted to help others, to stay and help any group that needed it. But, with his terrifying appearance, no group wanted his aid, preferring the pretty white armored men, with normal, human faces and smiles. No one wanted a pale, scarred, robotic being, helping them. To his surprise, he felt a light hand on his shoulder, and saw Obi-Wan Kenobi standing beside him, resting his hand on him, smiling kindly.

"Helmet or not, injured or not. The Twi'leks of Dumash will hail you as their hero. I'm standing back as an advisory role for this one. You get the 212th, and I imagine Cody is eager to hear your command." he said, smiling wider. General shard blinked his real eye and his Photoreceptor eye flickered, mimicking a blink.

"You trust, me?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"It's... It's nothing General. I'll work on our strategy." Shard said quickly, turning back to the holo-map

Obi-Wan turned away, a small frown on his face. Something was troubling the General, he sensed it from his first message to him when they dropped out of hyperspace. He was incredibly curt and polite, but he seemed to have a thirst to prove himself. He then realized what was going on: He was alienated as the only Clone General, and was seeking allies within the military.

It made sense; Clones were excepted to fill all roles of the military, but none dared to attempt the rank of General. He recalled Anakin's sargent, Slik, and his views on the Clones as second class to the Jedi 'overlords', and guessed it likely seeped into the military, maybe not believed, but it was there. As the only one of his brothers to stand amongst the Jedi, he likely assumed, or feared, he would be looked down on, as any ordinary elitist military would certainly have this hierarchy. But this was the Republic Military, not the Corellian Navy or the Hut Hordes. He would show him all the kindness he could, and do his best to introduce him to differing Generals to prove himself, on his own terms. He likely did not want a Jedi holding his hand, that would antagonize him and only prove his point in is eyes. He would remain cautious, and be there for Shard if he needed him.

He turned back to Shard, his eyes intense with focus as he moved holographic troops around differing installations in imagined attacks. The Battle of Jixuan Desert would be a hell of a fight.

* * *

Obi-Wan had dozed off in his chair by the time Shard had finished his plans, despite it being a little over ten minutes. He approached the General and roused him gently.

"General Kenobi? Obi-Wan?" he asked, shaking his shoulders. His eyes fluttered open and he sat up.

"Are we ready to proceed?"

"Yes General. I have ordered Thirty Five percent groups of our AT-TE's to the two closest military installations, with a smaller number being sent to the final one, due it it's far off position, and five AT-SAT's to reinforce. In addition to several droid transport ships, with reprogrammed droids and tanks to aid in the attack. I added a few more transports to the far installation, due to it's lack of republic fighters. Our main force of twenty AT-SAT's and the rest of the AT-TE's will head directly to the city and begin our siege. The AT-SAT's can climb the walls or make serpentine motions and cover our walkers as they make the climb. I believe the design of the fortress was to funnel us through the trench and up the stairway. With this done all Separatist installations and the city will fall within hours of one another.

"How long will it take us to get there? Our walkers are not the fastest." Obi-Wan asked, concerned, nervously stroking his beard.

"I already sent the groups on ahead, and we just began moving."

Obi-Wan stood up and imminently fell back into his seat, feeling seasick. The AT-SAT moved like a snake, swaying in great, sweeping motions.

"Probably best to strap in until you get into the rhythm of it, Kenobi," Shard said, testing Obi-Wan for intolerance against more casual names.

"Will do, Shard," He replied, breathing deeply.

* * *

They reached the city by sunset, the dark mountain obscuring the sun, but yet so tall and thin it looked like a vertical pupil of some kind of reptile or feline predator, stalking them from the stars. Off in the farther distance, he saw the Separatist fortresses already under attack. He saw MTTs deploying battle droids, which were storming the fortress, and the swaying forms of AT-SATs dodging blaster fire before slithering over the wall like Wyrms. He roused General Kenobi, who opened his eyes peacefuly and stood tall.

"Let us end this, General." Obi-Wan said solemnly.

"For the Twi'leks." he added.

"Signal our group, full frontal assault. Alert the other forces to march on the city and reinforce with _Clones only_. You got that Clicker?" Shard asked to seemingly empty air. Clicker's disembodied voice sounded from a speaker.

"Yes sir, what about our droids?"

"Leave just enough to man the fort, then have the craft board the ship and have them return home." Shard said sharply. He did not want any droids to remain longer then they should.

"And another thing," he continued, having an idea.

"When I give the word, fry them. Shut them down and make them go limp, anything just get them out of commission."

"Yes, Sir!" Clicker said, before the communication ended.

The battle was swift, and deadly. The AT-SATs slithered up the steep mountain, flanking the defenses and striking a key blow to the droid forces. They slew the T-Series Tacticle droid stationed there and the droids fell into chaos. The arriving soldiers as well aided in the assault, eventually forcing the droids into one final, desperate stand, with one droid commander left on the field with his units falling all around him. We hoisted the republic banner, and it was over. We won.

"I will need to report on your success to General Windu," Obi-Wan said, patting him on the back.

"Rest easy now, Shard. You've earned it," he added, smiling.

"To be honest with you, Obi-Wan, I will rest easy when Wat Tambor is behind an energy field in a cell. Commander Tusk can take care of things here and help them in rebuilding. I will have to hurry back to rondevou with General Windu, he is pushing forward to the capital of Lesu." Shard said stiffly.

"Very well you had better get going then, General. I hope to see you again soon; you still owe me a sparring match," he reminded him playfully.

"I would be honored to duel with the best duelist of the Jedi Order!" Shard said, laughing with Kenobi as he boarded a AT-SAT and lead his remaining serpentine vehicles towards Mace Windu's location.

He had expected a convoy of walkers. What he found was a bloodbath.

* * *

 _And that is the end of the imagined battle for Jixuan Desert. I through the it would have been cool to see the clones in the Clone Wars to fight on more beaches or deserts, more sandy environments. We had rocky and we had orange, sure, but no yellow tatooine sands, ya know? Anyways the next and final instlemnt of the ryloth ark will be next, please COMMENT AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE NEXT, I would love to add in whatever Clone Wars ark you guys want with these guys. Anyways, cloaked writer signing off :P_


	6. Chapter 5: Syndulla

_This is the fourth and final installment of the Ryloth Ark. Please suggest some arks for me to do, if no one suggests, I will just do the next one in chronological order. Sorry for taking a while to get this one finished, these take a lot of research and time to write in one day, and with school coming up I will be lucky to upload every other day if not twice a week. I hope you enjoy! And on another note, the AT-SAT is intended to look like the head of an AT-AT, but attached to a flexible elongated body, just to help get a mental image for the All Terrain Serpentine Attack Transport. -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

 ** _Mesa of Ryloth, 22 BBY, The Clone Wars_**

General Mace Windu was having a bad day.

He was under fire on a steep path to the badlands of Lesu, and his lead All-Terrain Tactical-Enforcer walker had been destroyed. They were cut off and unable to progress

Commander Pons rushed towards him, his white and brown armor dirty from the dust in the air.

"We're pinned down!" He yelled to his General.

"Send out Lightning Squadron, and get the injured back, I'll clear the road." Mace said, handing the care of a wounded Walker Pilot to another trooper, as he readied to use the force.

Pons turned away and spoke into his wrist comlink, as Windu clenched his fists and forced the walker from the walkway.

"I want Lightning up here _now!_ " He shouted, as Mace Windu used the force to force the damaged and empty walker from the road. At his marshal commander's command, a dozen All Terrain Recon Transports poured from the landing hatches of the AT-TE Walkers. One of the AT-RT drivers surrendered his seat to General Windu.

"She's all yours General!" The driver said, climbing down from his seat, only to be replaced by his Jedi General.

"We'll lead the way, Commander," Mace said, before sprinting off to battle. Mace chugged onward, and prepared his mind for combat. Pons called out to his AT-TE walkers, pointing down the road the AT-RTs had just sped down.

"Forward!" He shouted.

Mace Windu streaked towards the offensive tanks, noticing their fire was split between him, and... something else. It couldn't have been Gutkurr, they only fed on organic flesh, and ignored droids-

His thoughts were silenced as one of the tanks exploded, and through the smoke bright blue plasma bolts burned through the air, striking the tanks and leaving deep scars. Through the smoke an AT-SAT slithered through the wreckage, fighting tooth and nail. His eyes narrowed, and he noted that Lightning Squadron was having it's thunder stolen by General Shard.

Shard's troops made short work of the tanks, while Mace and Lightning squadron blasted the commanding officers.

Pons and his AT-TEs had arrived, the legs slugging forward, in a slow but steady pace.

"How many men did we loose?" He asked his Marshal Commander, trying to ignore General Shard climbing down from his walker and approaching him.

"Thirty Two, I think, including the command crews of three walkers." Pons said, removing his helmet.

"The good news is Kenobi has broken through their last stronghold, and cleared us a path straight to the capital." He said to his Jedi leader.

"This battle was costly, Commander. Even with General Shard's troops. We need to get our blasters in a row first, and contact Coruscant to speak to Chancellor Palpatine and Senator Orn Free Taa, and inform them of the situation." Mace said, internally rolling his eyes and approaching General Shard.

"I have Coruscant ready for us in my command post, we are ready for you General." Shard said. He knew Mace windu would be the most difficult to convince of good intentions, as he was a very stubborn Jedi, and wanted things done conventionally, with experimentation eyed with caution, if not outright distrust.

* * *

The scene filtered through a hologram on the Holo-pod in the Strategy room of Lesu. Wat Tambor's probe droid, cleverly hiding in a pile of rubble, was undetected.

"So it seems that TX-20 was compromised when he sent us his report. I am disappointed to see that this Clone is gathering so much ground." He said, looking to his T-Series Tactical droid.

[ _I calculate, at their current pace, the Jedi, and the Clone, will reach Lesu by morning. I would recommend imminent evacuation of our forces._ ] The droid dralled.

"I will not retreat! That Jedi and the Clone don't have the troops to take the city." Tambor said, slamming his fists with rage.

"Bring our troops inside the city and secure the bridge." He said darkly.

[ _By your command, Emir._ ]

* * *

General's Shard and Windu entered the AT-TE's tactical center, to see holograms of General Skywalker, Grand Master Yoda, Admiral Yularen, Senator Taa, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, awaiting them.

"Ah, Master Windu, General Shard. Good to see you. General Skywalker was just reporting on your progress," The Chancellor said, smiling kindly.

"As you were saying, Anakin?"

"My fighters have regained control over the system, and we have complete air control over the planet." General Skywalker said confidently.

"Very good." Palpatine said, inclining his head to the Jedi. Anakin left the conversation, his form replaced by a hologram of the planet. Mace Windu stepped forward and began gesturing to the planet.

"General Kenobi just captured the Jixuan Desert, meaning the Southern Hemisphere is ours." Windu said. Palpatine then spoke up, with a warm yet all-knowing smile.

"Actually, I am told that it was an act of brilliance by General Shard. Simultaneously striking four targets in order to restrict their web-strategy was a stroke of genius, young man." The Chancellor said, smiling to the Clone. Shard was stoic on the outside, but on the inside he was cheering. He had the support the the Chancellor, at least for now. This temporary favor would be useful capital for the navy hierarchy.

"Thank you, your excellency." Shard said, inclining his head in a bow.

"Then, this is almost over." Senator Taa said in his heavily accented Basic, sounding relived.

"Not just yet, The key position is the Capital of Lesu. Our spies are certain the Separatist leader Wat Tambor has his headquarters there." Shard said, gesturing to a map of the city which appeared in the place of the planet.

"When taken the city we have, capture Tambor, we must." Yoda said, his holographic claws clenching into a fist.

"It's not going to be easy, master. Tambor has chosen has stronghold well. This plasma bridge is the only way _in_ or _out_." Mace said, pointing to the blinking structure at the edge of the city gates.

"We have some tech to put it under our control, but it would take time to get it down here, and even longer to calibrate it." Shard said, putting a hand and gingerly stroking his chin.

"I'm afraid a siege could drag on indefinitely," Palpatine said gravely.

"My people have suffered so much already!" Senator Taa said indignantly and somewhat frantically.

"A plan to take the bridge have you, General Shard?" Master Yoda said, his hologram looking up to the scarred leader.

"Somewhat, my AT-SATs can navigate the gap safely, either by extending across or climbing down then back up again. Using them to ferry small doses of troops over to the city to activate the bridge and hold the control tower for the remaining troops to cross could prove fruitful. However there are many intangibles, and it could use developing." Shard said, tracing a path with his finger.

"Hmm, an idea, master Windu?" Yoda then asked, turning his large eyes to the Jedi.

"With our forces stretched so thinly, I'm going to enlist the help of the Freedom Fighters, led by Cham Syndulla. His fight against against the droids has made him a symbol of hope for the people." Mace said, bringing up a file on the Twi'lek revolutionary. He was a light orange in color, and bore a series of tattoos across his leku.

"Cham Syndulla was a radical before the war," Palpatine said pensively, bringing a hand to his chin.

"He is very unpredictable." He finished, before almost being cut off by an explosion from Orn Free Taa.

"He can't be trusted!" He bellowed like a wounded reek.

"I _know_ Syndulla seeks to gain power. We were political rivals." Taa said venomously.

"We'll leave the politics to you Senator. We have a battle to begin, and we will try our best to help these people." Shard said pointedly.

"Perhaps, we could send you republic reinforcements?" Palpatine offered, trying to resolve the conflict. He looked to Admiral Yularen for support, when Yularen's hologram flickered, and he turned to speak to someone out of the capture radius. He turned back with a grave look on his face.

"That is impossible. A separatist fleet just entered the system, and there is too many of them to use General Shard's sovereigns on them. I'm afraid there are no reinforcements." He finished, his hologram shuddering again.

"We can't win without Syndullas help," Mace said, clenching a fist.

"We'll seek the rebels and try to convince them to join us."

Admiral Yularen turned away and his hologram vanished, his presence obviously needed on the bridge.

"Senator, I would like to discus the Civil Water Standards bill with you, could you drop by the Senate Building?"

"Of course, Chancellor." Senator Taa said, bowing as their holograms fading out.

"I'll take a scouting force to make contact with the rebels. You stay here with Pons and make your way to the capital." Mace said, unceremoniously brushing past Shard. Shard's eyes narrowed. _Why was Mace Windu so hostile towards him?_

* * *

 _Why was he being so hostile to General Shard?_ Mace thought to himself, as his walker chugged forward, the wind whipping past him. He considered for a moment, contemplating why he was allowing himself to be so petty to the Clone-

And then he caught it. He was letting his personal beliefs creep into his duty. He did find the Clones rather limited, a strained idea that these Clones were just the same man, copies of the man he had slaughtered. He didn't mind the Clones as subordinates, but there was something about him that irked the Jedi. A Clone on par with and as an equal to a Jedi, like the old Fett... But that needed to stop. General Shard could not help that he was a Clone, and he wasn't just placed there for no reason. He had great potential and had already flexed it in the liberation the town and the Jixuan desert.

He was cut off from his thoughts as his men reached the site of the massacre. He dismounted from his AT-RT walker, and approached a long collection of gravestones and pillars.

"Wasn't this the site where they were... massacred?" An ARF trooper asked, wielding his DC-15S blaster carbine. Mace stooped down and examined the grave site, seeing a large three toed footprint the size of the end of a Proton Shell. He placed a hand in the track, feeling the heat the animal had left.

"The Resistance fighters ride creatures native to this region, and these tracks are fresh," He said. A semi-distant animalistic groan caused his men to raise their guns, but Mace waved them down. He had found Cham.

* * *

General Shard ordered the troops to make double time, in order to reach a neighboring town an hour or so before sunset. It was walled with natural slabs of rock, but other than this it was structured as all the other homes were made on the planet, and by comparison the whole outer rim. The Walkers took potshots at the retreating droids, managing to destroy an AAT. Pons approached him, removing his helmet.

"Should I send a recon unit, sir?" He asked, admiration hanging in his voice, but it was more veiled then the Marshal Commanders Cody and Rex.

"No, I think we'll be alright. We are ahead of schedule as well... We'll hold here for the night. Position ourselves in a defensive ring around the settlement. Not to close though, we don't want to scare the villagers. I stocked the AT-SATs with extra rations and Funge bread for the villagers, they must be starving." Shard said, lowing his eye with a look of sorrow on what was left of his face. His photoreceptor eye dimmed to mimic the motion of the other eye.

"Yes, Sir!" Pons said, saluting and moving out to dictate his orders.

* * *

Emir Tambor's plans for an evening meal in a atmospheric bubble overlooking the sunset were foiled by a call from Count Dooku.

" _Your Tactical droid informs me of the horrible mess you are making of our investment in Ryloth._ " Dooku said venomously, his arms folded beneath his cape.

Wat Tambor turned in disbelief to the cold photoreceptor eyes of the droid, then back to Dooku.

"That droid, exaggerates!" he yelled though his suit's vocabulator, pointing at the droid's head.

"I have not lost yet!"

" _You are not a match for Mace Windu. Take all the valuables you can, then destroy everything else._ " the Count ordered.

" _Everything?_ " Tambor asked, inclining his head in a half questioning, half confirming way.

" _Everything_ " Dooku repeated. He unfolded his arms and directed a long holographic finger towards the Emir.

" _The charred ruins of Ryloth will show the galaxy the cost of a Republic_ Victory," he said darkly, a twisted smile forming on his face. His hologram vanished, and Tambor turned to his droid. He should be furious, but he had little time to vent his anger at the machine.

"Target every village in range; the inhabited ones first." He said.

[ _The Bombers will be loaded and ready to launch in ten minutes_ ] The droid replied, it's voice as cold as space

* * *

The villagers were incredibly welcoming of the group, sharing what little they had with their honored guests. Shard tactfully however, invited many into his 'homes', in order to make sure many had food and water supplied to take back to their families. He sat down at one of the campfires, where the Clones largely sat alone, save for a few Twi'leks who came close and exploded with kindness and enthusiasm in dance and song, which many of the more hardened clones found enjoyable, but that some of the shinies found uncomfortably new. He stooped over the flames, readying to roast a stick of gruuvan shaal that a local had thrust upon him despite his protests, when the Clones began to act nervous. Seeing that there was something wrong, he did not sit idly by.

"Everything alright boys?" he asked, his voice filtering through his helmet. He had neglected taking his helmet off, in fear that the locals would be afraid of it.

They jumped, and began looking at one another, unexpected at being spoken to.

"Well... it's just..." the leftmost Clone started, raising a white armored arm behind his head.

"We weren't expecting to be joined by the General" He finished. He suddenly raised his hands.

"Don't get me wrong! We are honored to have us with you, it was just... unexpected." He finished, looking to his left and to his brothers for confirmation, to which they looked helpless.

"It's alright, I do have a bit of an intimidating aura, what with the dark armor and mauled face," He said, smirking as he took off his helmet to eat. He turned the gruuvan shaal over, the vegetables perfectly charred and the meat with a perfect bark. he turned his human eye towards them, and saw them all holding their breath.

"You can be at ease boys, we can relax here. What're your names?" he asked, lifting his stick and blowing out a small fire that ignited at the end.

"CT1298, Sling, sir" the Clone who spoke said, straightening slightly, a Protein stick in hand.

"CT0876, Tri, sir" the center-most Clone said, he too with a protein stick in his hand.

"CT4350, I haven't yet gotten a nickname, sir!" the Clone to the farthest right said, somewhat sheepishly. He held a steaming wooden bowl in hands, having excepted a bowl of Rycrit Stew, which had been brewed in a giant pot for the occasion. He moved to use his wooden spoon to take a bite, when he gagged at the intense heat assaulting his tongue, and only just managed to choke it down, his throat likely blistering.

"...hot..." he mumbled under his breath, drinking some water from a canteen. Shard smiled.

"Maybe we just found a nickname for you, if you'll take it," Shard offered temptingly to CT4350.

"Really? What is it?"

"Stew."

All four men laughed heartily. Shard's gruuvan shaal had finished cooking, a little overcooked to be honest, and he took a bite of the reptile meat offered on the skewer. It was slightly gamy, but not horrible.

"So tell me, how did you boys get your names?" Shard asked, making friendly conversation.

"I was shot three times by a super battle droid, but I still put it down before I blacked out. They rushed me to the med bay, and Pons had a name for me when I woke up" Tri replied, his face a mixture of a smile at the joy and a grimace of the pain.

"I brought down a rock-slide on a droid patrol on the way here actually. I improvised a slingshot to hurl a Thermal Detonator into a crack in a cliff, and caused an avalanche to destroy a few dozen lines of battle droids." Sling said, smiling at the memory, and taking a bite of vegetable.

"What about you sir?" Stew asked, taking a bit of his now cooled meal. Shard chuckled.

"I like to say that I got it heroically saving the day, fighting off a horde of droids, when a scrap of a Proton Shell whizzed past me and gouged my face up," he paused and gestured to his grisly scar.

"But that would be a Nerf Faced Lie. My boys are rowdy, and when we were younger on Korasa, two got in a serious fight. They would have killed one another if I didn't step in, but a shard of glass they were going to use on one another caught me in the face. And thus," he gestured to his face once again.

"Shard."

"And that's why you name your ships like that..." Tri said in understanding. Shard nodded. He opened his mouth to ask them another question, when his Comlink went off shrilly. He answered it.

"Sir! There are Bombers heading our way!" A unidentified Clone said frantically. Shard's eyes widened as he grabbed his helmet and thrust it on over his head.

"Get the gunners ready to fire, I want those things brought down before they can attack the village or our troops, and send out some kind of alarm to let our boys know to get to battle stations." Shard said, before letting out one of his bellows he was oh-so good at.

"All troopers! Battle-stations! We have bombers incoming!" He howled as loud as he could.

They managed to shoot down one fighter, the body crashing into the sands in an orange fireball. But the other droids hit their marks. The town was lit ablaze, with homes burning like matchwood.

Shard saw Pons emerge from a hatch inside one of the AT-TEs, horror written on his face.

Shard turned to him and shouted.

"Contact General Windu! I'll lead the fire prevention squads. Deploy search and rescue!" He shouted to another soldier. White armored and black armored troops rushed to the town, some of them marked with red crosses on their arms and backpacks, signaling medic status, helping coughing people from their homes. They improvised blaster coolant packs into fire extinguishers, and the Twi'leks woefully used some of their precious stew and water to douse the fires.

* * *

General Windu sat in an underground hide-out being entertained, begrudgingly, by some of Cham's men and dancers. He had successfully made contact with the resistance leader, tracking him and his men to a small spot where they ambushed a droid patrol, then they were escorted to the hide-out.

"I hope you do not mind. This distraction, eases the burden of the war, on my men," Cham explained, gesturing to the dancers from his sitting alcove.

"You provide for your men, as a General myself, I respect that. So why won't you let us help you?" Mace asked. From his point of view, it made no sense. The enemy of his enemy was his friend, especially of the enemy of his enemy was his friend long before he and his friend shared enemies.

"I do not trust Senator Taa, and what he plans for Ryloth when the war is over." the Twi'lek said distastefully, looking down and shaking his head.

"We will help you rebuild, and make sure your people are not left as refugees." Mace assured him. Though he was sure his troops would be called elsewhere, he knew Shard's troops were Privateers and had the freedom to attack and aid whomever they wished unless ordered otherwise by the Chancellor himself.

"Your Clones will stay for security?" He asked, his eyebrows raising on his high brow. Mace hesitated. He did not want to cause any anger in the revolutionary, to stoke further feelings of an abandoned Ryloth.

"For a time, to keep the peace of course." Mace assured him.

Wrong move.

"Another armed occupation, is _not_ a free Ryloth!" Cham Syndulla snarled, his clawed hands closing into a fist.

"How long until I am fighting _you,_ Master Jedi?" He challenged, staring deep into Mace Windu's brown eyes. The match of wordplay and threats was interrupted by a chime on Mace Windu's hand held hologram projector. He keyed it on.

"What is it?" He asked the shuddering image of Commander Pons.

"The Separatists have begun a fire bombing campaign. General Shard is doing all he can with the most local villages, but there is little we can do." He said, his voice frantic and afraid, with almost microscopic beads of sweat dripping down his brow.

Cham's eyes watered and he dipped his face into the depths of the palm of his hand. There were whispers circulating amongst the freedom fighters, worred cries and anguished murmurs. When Cham emerged from the veil of his hand, his eyes had hardened ever so slightly.

"Make the arrangements. I will speak with Senator Taa." he said calmly.

* * *

A small Holo-pod, salvaged from a Separatist ship, was ready and stood tethered to a pair of bulky generators for power. The pod turned on and the bulky image of the Twi'lek senator appeared.

"Senator Taa, so nice of you to join us from _comfortable Coruscant,_ " Cham said angrily, turning away with his nose held high. He turned back, with a fiery glare in his eyes.

"I have led our people to freedom in your absence." He declared triumphantly.

"I knew you would use this situation to take power!" Taa said, his face rippling with anger.

Mace Windu's comlink chimed. As soon as he pressed a button, a flurry of noise sounded from the source, along with a familiar cry.

"General Windu!" Anakin said loudly, his voice distorted from the rapid movements and diversions of energy to communications to the weapons systems of his Delta-7B A _ethersprite-_ class light interceptor.

"I hear you Skywalker-" Mace began, before being cut off by an urgent Anakin.

"Our fighters are taking out the bombers as fast as we can, but there is no way we can destroy them all,"

"You _must_ destroy those bombers Skywalk-" another chime cut him off. He activated it, and heard a Clones voice.

"General? This is Shard. We are doing our best, but the fires are spreading too quickly in these villages. They are even attacking liberated towns and homesteads in the Southern Hemisphere. We are evacuating all we can but we need more ships!" Shard said frantically. Mace felt a deep sense of pride in the General, and a deep sense of shame flow within him. He was wrong to ever have doubted him.

"Do the best you can, and load the civilians onto gunships or transports in order to keep them safe. They seem to be targeting villages." Mace said, ending the transmission.

"What could the Separatists hope to gain by... _burning_ our homes," Orn said, his large chin waggling on the brink of tears.

"Nothing. Wat Tambor spoils for others, what he cannot have." Cham said.

"Senator, the resistance is hesitant to work with us because of the fear of another armed occupation. What can you say to assure them?" mace asked, seeing an opportunity.

The Senator dried his eyes and stood tall, looking at Cham directly in the eye.

"On whatever honor I have left in this body, the Clone army _will leave_ , and Ryloth _will_ be _free_ from those droids!" Senator Taa said, with the grandiose and flair of a battle-cry.

"Cham Syndulla, the Senator has been wary of you in fear that you will try to seek control of the planet. What assurance do you have to assure him that you will do no such thing?" Mace asked. Now was the hitch. He wasn't sure if Cham was truly a freedom fighter, or a faction seeking to gain control. Cham looked up, then spoke.

"All I want is for my people to be free." He looked to Orn Free Taa.

"I give you my word, I believe in Democracy!"

"Then we will fight as one. Ready your men, we will muster outside of Lesu." Mace said, as the image of Senator Taa vanished.

* * *

General Shard's troops emerged from the buildings with true char on them, not the decorative paints, but true soot and grime from flames. Some helped carry the wounded and dying from huts, others emerged with stretchers and survival blankets covering bodies in makeshift shrouds. The fires ate through the mud like it was made with wood-pulp, and sometimes it required blasters to fire at the flames to disturb them enough to cease. General Shard helped a limping Twi'lek male from his home, when his Comlink chimed. He keyed it on, and his Clone Marshal Commander Tusk appeared.

"Report." Shard requested.

"Sir, everyone has been evacuated, and has been moved to a local staging area. We took their names and the name of the city they come from, so when this is all over, we can help them rebuild." The holographic image of Tusk said, looking up to his General.

"Very good, Commander. Send the remaining AT-SATs to my location, we are truly reading for the final push to fight the droids off this planet. If any Twi'leks want to help, give them blasters and chest plates from the dead. We could use all the help we can muster, and Cham's local militia could use the extra fighting men. Make sure to bury any of our men, and make sure the bodies of the fallen Twi'leks follow them as well. So they can pay the proper respect." Shard said, keying the hologram off.

The battle was to begin in earnest.

* * *

Shard rendezvous with his five AT-TEs, and a half dozen AT-SATs, with the promise of more on the way. His AT-RTs, Swallow Squadron, and General Windu's Lightning Squadron, being led by Commander Pons, was already on the ground and deployed when General Windu and Cham's resistance group arrived on strange local reptilian creatures. They approached, and Shard walked forward, determined to get a plan out and ready. He had several retorts, and a half dozen arguments ready to fire at a moments notice.

None would be needed.

"Ah, General Shard. Good. I think your plan of the ferrying of troops with the AT-SATs should work. Get your best men across the gorge quickly, the sooner the bridge is captured, the better." Mace said, a friendly smile on his face. Shard stiffened, caught completely off guard by the Generals sudden change in behavior. He had gone for borderline despising him, to friendly to him in moments.

"A-Alright. Command crews two, three, eight, begin stealth maneuvers, get down and back up the gorge!" Shard called to his men.

The serpentine transports activated, slithering forward using the cover of the mountains to climb down a steep road, and scale the walls undetected. The doors opened, and a small group of Clones disembarked and began a stealthy approach. They slipped through the open city gates, and with a brief blast of blue light, they had control of the bridge. The battle could begin.

The AT-SATs scaled the wall of the building, destroying dormant AAT tanks and droids awaiting orders, while the freedom fighters, and the Lightning and Swallow Squadrons rushed in to take control of the city. The droids were caught completely off guard, and Wat Tambor was caught on his own palace balcony, unable to react to Shard's blaster rifle in his face, and Mace Windu's lightsaber at his throat.

"Surrender." Mace demanded to the Skakoan.

"It seems that a surrender is," He was cut off by his suit giving feedback.

"...Unnecessary," He said, gesturing behind him. In the light of the sun, several Hyena bombers were closing in, ready to destroy the capitol.

"We will all _perish_ for the glory of the Separatist alliance!" He proclaimed, as a pair of Jedi Delta-7B A _ethersprite-_ class light interceptors, colored red and yellow drifted into view. In bursts of blue plasma energy, they destroyed the fighters just before they could attack the city.

Wat Tambor lowered his hands, and dipped his head in submission.

"What are your terms for surrender?" He asked.

"Unconditional" A voice behind them said. Shard turned to see Cham pointing a blaster at the Techno-Union foreman.

"Agreed," Tambor said in defeat.

Ryloth celebrated its new freedom with a parade of the freedom-fighters and of Republic soldiers marching alongside them. Senator Taa arrived in person in order to make appearances and see to it that his people were stable. After the festivities, and when the promised removal of Republic troops, Shard approached Cham.

"General Syndulla, I have a proposition for you," the Clone said, his voice masked by his helmet's vocalizer.

"And that being?" The General asked, a wary expression on his face.

"My men are exceptionally good at fighting, but if you desired, we could remain for a time to aid you in rebuilding. And we would be happy to leave behind some republic equipment and weapons in order to defend yourselves when we leave," He offered.

Cham considered for a moment, but he shook his head after a time.

"No, I think we need to rebuild on our own, without outside intervention for a while. We would gratefully except the defense weapons however, and I am honored by your kindness, no other Jedi or Clone has offered that to us. I thank you." He said, bowling slightly with his hand over his heart. Shard mirrored the movement.

"It has been an honor to fight alongside you, General Syndulla." Shard said, walking towards his transport.

"The same to you, General Shard. The same to you," Syndulla repeated, watching the Clone leave. The Republic was lucky to have a man like that leading her forces.

* * *

 _OK! that took a lot longer then expected and I am very sorry about that. This is the last one of this little bit, the next part will be the Second Battle of Geonosis. I will likely continue that idea in a bit, as A) family stuff coming up and then B) School starting *sobs*. Anyways, thank you as always for reading, Cloaked Writer out._


	7. Chapter 6: Skulls

_This is the beginning of the Geonosis ark, I hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

A massive fleet of nearly a dozen _Venator-_ class star destroyers and over a half dozen Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ships exited hyperspace into orbit around the barren rock known as Geonosis.

Generals Shard, Kai-Adi Mundi, and Obi-Wan Kenobi stood aboard the flagship of the Republic Fleet, The RSD _Branch,_ looking out towards the dusky planet of Geonosis.

"I can't believe we are back here again" Obi-Wan said, disappointment dripping from his words.

"It is unfortunate. The resistance from the native Geonosians was stronger than we anticipated." General Mundi said, stroking his beard.

"The same could be said to their loyalty to Count Dooku" said Shard gravely, his hands folded across his chest. General Mundi smiled at the Clones tact. He was one of the handful of Generals who accepted him out of hand and took an immediate liking to Shard.

"A fact that is often overlooked" he said, smiling slightly. The doors behind them to the strategy room opened with a hiss, and Anakin Skywalker, along with his Padawan, Ahsoka Tano, emerged from the room, pushing and joking amongst one another in playful banter. General Kenobi pursed his lips, obviously unsettled by them and their lack of a timely entrance.

"You're late" he said dryly to Anakin, who simply flashed a devil-may-care smile.

"Sorry master, Ashoka and I were busy routing the separatists near Dorin." He said proudly.

"My squadron alone got thirty five kills" Ahsoka said, turning to face them with a grin.

"Yeah, but mine got seventy six," Anakin said, not willing to be outdone by his apprentice.

"Show off!" She said in playful defeat, rolling her eyes and turning to face the planet out the window.

"Well, I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves," Shard said, a small hint of amusement in his voice at this game. He mentally considered joining in, if he had the time.

"It's just a bit of friendly competition Shard, nothing to worry about. Just something to dull the fear of the battles for the men and for the Jedi who fight them. I'd encourage you to try it to." Anakin offered to the Clone.

"What _I'm_ worried about is the way this war seems to be drawing out with no end in sight." Obi-Wan said, stroking his beard.

"Which is why it is crucial our invasion of Geonosis meets with success," General Mundi said matter-of-factly.

"Agreed," Anakin said, nodding to his peers. He turned to his Padawan, determination in his eyes.

"Ahsoka, contact the outer rim command. We're ready for our briefing." The Dare-devil General of the 501st said, turning to his apprentice.

"They are already waiting for us, Master," she said calmly.

* * *

The outer rim command was filled to the brim with Jedi Generals, holographic and in person, and the Chancellor, offering his limited advice.

"Our ships are in position and we are ready to begin our canoeing against the Geonosians," Obi-Wan said, gesturing to the wide selection of ships in orbit around a holographic model of the planet.

" _And what about Poggle? Have you located him yet?_ " Mace said, his hologram flickering for the distance of the transmission. Obi-Wan opened a new map of a small sector on the planet, showing a gorge and a droid foundry under a red shield generator.

"It seems that he's held up inside the main droid compound, here. The factory is protected by a shield. Anakin, Mundi, Shard, and I will ready a four cornered attack through their lines to a staging area just short of the shield. Once we have landed, we will march to the shield generator. That will be our primary objective." Obi-Wan said, awaiting any critiques the command might have. The only criticism came from a wary Chancellor Palatine.

" _Isn't it risky to commit four generals to one sector of the battle? If something went wrong we would be dealt a serious blow_." He said, looking to the other commanders.

" _To assure Geonosis does not rise again, capture Poggle we must._ " The gravely voice of Grand Master Yoda said wisely.

" _Of course,_ " the Chancellor said, General Windu leering behind him. But the elderly man paid him no mind.

" _As per usual I shall leave the strategy's to you, gentlemen,_ " he said, Bowing his head to Obi-Wan.

"Thank you, Chancellor." Obi-wan said, and the transmission was cut.

The doors hissed open, and Commander Cody, Captain Rex, Commander Jet, and Commander Tusk entered the room.

"Ah, Tusk. Good to see you. What will be the pattern of assault?"

Tusk gestured to the map.

"General Skywalker will make his movement from the south, General Kenobi to the south east, and General Mundi will make his approach from the east. Getting past the forward defenses _here,_ will be the trick," He said, gesturing to the map, were a large arch of red flashing dots formed in the terrain.

"General Shard will deploy early, and engage the front lines in order to stretch their fire between two attack forces. Your groups will move forwards and destroy the generator, with our forces causing as large a scene as possible." Tusk said, his voice amplified in his helmet.

"It won't be easy... look at that wall with all the gun emplacements!" Anakin's Padawan learner Ahsoka Tano said nervously.

"Don't worry snips, we won't be anywhere near that." Anakin reassured her dismissively.

"Come now? What happened to all the enthusiasm I saw earlier?" Obi-Wan asked his former apprentice with a twinkle in his eye.

"We can handle ourselves, Master. Just make sure you get down to the landing zone in one piece." Anakin said with a chuckle, resting an arm around his fellow Jedi's shoulder.

"Oh, dont worry. I'll be there to greet you when you _finally_ arrive," Obi-Wan bit back to Skywalker.

" _Gentlemen, if you are_ quite _finished, we have a battle to begin._ " The hologram of Luminara Unduli said in a restrained tone.

"Quite right," Obi-Wan said, his professional veil returning. Luminara bowed to Kai Adi Mundi, her hologram vanished as she readied her part in re-taking the airspace of Geonosis.

"Cody, meet me in the hanger, and order all the gunships to be ready." Obi-Wan said, and the bridge scattered into motion.

"General Skywalker," Shard said, catching Anakin's arm.

"Yes?"

"I have some Elite squads that could prove useful to your campaign." Shard said plainly.

"Alright, get them in gunships and have them split evenly between the three forwards Generals. We need to get moving." He said quickly, already walking away.

Shard pressed a button on his wrist, opening a comlink channel.

"Clicker, I want Skulls One, Two, and Three in gunships and assigned to differing commands." He said to one of his Marshal Commanders. He awaited a response.

"Acknowledged, General. They took some initiative and are already prepped."

"Good. I'll see you planet-side."

"Yes, sir." Clicker said, before cutting the transmission.

* * *

"I wasn't aware the Privateering fleet had Commandos," Obi-Wan said in surprise to Cody at seeing the heavily equipped, but regularly armored 300th battalion troops board one of his gunships. The only difference in their attire was a black cloth Pauldron with a red skull over their right shoulders, and a red skull painted on their left armor pauldron. They wore backpacks of blast charges and plasma charges, and had DC-17 pistols and holsters in addition to their DC-17m blaster rifles.

"Officially, they don't, sir. It's their equivalent to ARC troopers. These are some of their best troops that they give honorary names to, and assign them to elite groups." Cody said.

"How do they choose who is the best?"

"I don't know, but there is a few that didn't fit in the gunship, and are with us, sir. If you wanted to ask them, that is." Cody said, gesturing to the pair of dark troopers that entered the LAAT gunship.

"Ah, well that should be interesting on the way down. Tell me, did you fight in the first battle?" He asked Cody as he walked to his transport.

"No, sir. I was not involved in the first battle of Geonosis." Cody replied, shaking his head.

"Well, you didn't miss much. The last time I was here I was chained to a pole and attacked by several humongous monsters." Obi-Wan said bluntly.

"That sounds... Entertaining?"

"It was. For the _Geonosians,"_ Obi-Wan said as the doors closed. He turned and saw all of his troops were dressed in Advanced Recon Force outfits with desert camoflauge. He turned and eyed the two Elite troopers. One's left shoulder was to him, and he saw the large red marking on the pauldron. It was bright red, as bright as the Medic Cross, but with a Skull and Crossbones.

"Parson my asking, but how do you become part of the Elite unit of the 300th?" Obi-Wan asked the troopers, hoping to make friendly conversation and familiarity with some of the 300th, and hopefully initiate some trust within Shard's men. The closest of the pair didn't look at him, and it was a full three seconds before he spoke.

"You get through enough missions that command thinks are suicide missions, intact. Guess they chose us to go through another one." The trooper said darkly. The craft was silent for a while, until the pilot announced to the passengers that they were taking off.

* * *

It was hell as soon as they entered the atmosphere.

The sky was alight in a purple haze as Geonosian fighters streaked across the skies. The room was full of com-chatter as pilots and commanders alike voiced their situation. Shard cringed as Skywalker's team went out of contact, then hearing that Mundi's forces were forced to ground.

Shard reached for his comlink and keyed it on.

"Get the tanks down, now! Full speed to the front lines, I want it broken as fast as possible to give the Jedi support. Try to delay deployment of the AT-SATs until they are directly on top of them," He said hurriedly to the ground officer in charge of his tank divisions.

"Copy that."

His gunship landed on the ground and his troops spilled out onto the battle field. In the distance he saw a cloud of dust and smoke, that was the square of the Republic Landing Zone.

"All Companies, charge!" I yelled, opening my bayonet and charging forward at the head of my mass of troops.

* * *

The prediction of the Skulls was correct, as Obi-Wan found out to his disappointment. An unfortunate Geonosian flying Ace destroyed Engine one and destroyed all manual controls, causing the gunship to crash just out side the landing site. Crew members went flying, and an armored boot hit Obi-Wan in the head, knocking him out.

Cody looked through his electrobinoculars, a frown beginning to form under his helmet. That _had_ to be Kenobi's gunship. He had no 300th Skull troops available, all of them were busy leading the defences, fighting more ferociously then the Advanced Recon Commandos. He was separated from his thoughts by two of his best troops reporting to his side.

"Waxer, reporting as ordered, Sir!"

"Boil, reporting as ordered, Sir!"

"We have a downed gunship. We think it is General Kenobi's. We need you to go out there, and check for survivors!" Cody barked, pointing to the gunship.

"Sir, yes Sir!"

The pair of troopers rushed down to the gunship, dodging sonic waves of energy from Sonic Blasters from the fluttering Geonosians.

"Why do we always get all all the 'fun' missions," Boil said, taking cover behind the door of the gunship.

"Oh, this isn't the fun part. Getting back to the _square_ is the fun part!" Waxer said, taking hold of the door and pulling. As soon as the door opened, a blue plasma bolt burned through the air past their heads.

"Hold your fire! We're friendlies!" Waxer shouted, ducking out of sight. He heard a groan and heard the clatter of a body flopping down and relaxing. Waxer and Boil glanced at one another, both confused, and entered the gunship, guns at lax.

There were two moving bodies, one in white armor and the other in black. A dark 300th trooper stood shielding General Kenobi, who was unconscious.

"The General got banged around a bit, he should be alright other than a couple of broken toes. I should be fine, just a sore shoulder. Get him out of here and I'll cover you." The trooper said. Waxer eyed the pauldron with caution, but was couldn't deny that the man had a point.

"Alright, lets go,"

The Clone stood, but he stooped over a dead trooper dressed identically to him, and stripped the rank Pauldron from him. He clipped it to his belt, the red skull swinging precariously, and then moved to Kenobi, hoisting him up with ease and throwing him over his right shoulder.

"Change of plan. I can carry him like this. Cover me!" The trooper said, looping an arm to secure the General and holding his DC-17m blaster in one hand. Waxer didn't have time to argue.

* * *

Cody couldn't believe what he was seeing. One of the 300th Skulls had survived the crash, and was carrying Kenobi on his back, while hoisting a DC-17m blaster rifle with one hand and firing at any Geonosian that got to close. Waxer and Boil flanked him on either side, covering him.

"Gunner, lay down cover fire at point three five!" Cody yelled into his comlink, and motioned for two other troopers to help them give cover.

The trooper surged forward into the square, and rested him down by a large collection of crates. He pulled a syringe and injected an anti-bacteria bacta injection, rousing and easing the wounds.

Obi-Wan awoke just in time to see his lines break.

Clones in the tan ARF style helmets surrounded him, while the cryptic red and black Skull troopers of the 300th fought with a savagery unlike anything he had every seen. He noticed one, a leading figure among them, if the strange, flowing Kama was any indication, made war on the natives like a demon. He leapt into the air with surprising force and speed, and actually managed to pull an airborne Geonosian out of flight and into the ground with a crunch, where he killed it. He then took a step back, and Obi-Wan now saw what he had mistaken for a Kama, was actually over a dozen rank Pauldrons with red Skulls, all collected out of some sort of warrior respect from his dead brothers. Another skull fell to the earth, and he stooped to collect it with one hand, unbuckling the strap and grabbing the plastoid colored pauldron. The troops were utterly surrounded. Obi-Wan Kenobi ignited his lightsaber, the blue blade burning the air around him and shimmering in the dust. He was ready to die for peace to the galaxy. No one had been able to contact Admiral Yularen, and no one had seen Skywalker, Mundi, or heard of Shard's forces.

The second battle of Geonosis has failed.

Suddenly, the sky was alive with a scream of Y wings, who bombed the front lines, and then scattered shots into the mass that had surrounded their forces.

* * *

Shard looked ahead to the battle ahead of him, and sighed. He knew it would likely be difficult, if not impossible, to break their lines. He seized his hologram projector, and contacted Skywalker's Admiral, who was leading the air-groups.

"Admiral, we need fighters down here as fast as possible, we are surrounded down here!" he called to the hologram.

" _You're in luck, General Shard. Perfect timing, actually._ " Yularen said, motioning to someone out of range.

" _I have two squadrons available._ "

He barley to wait for two minutes when the bombs landed.

He charged forward, and lead his troops to the square. Speeder-bikes zoomed past him and dark AT-RT groups flew on their tails, cleaning up the outer points of the square.

The square came closer, and the more he saw, the worse it looked.

He slowed to a stop. He knew his advanced genetics could carry himself closer and faster, but he wanted to walk, to confirm that his Skulls were alright.

He was surprised to see they were almost all gone. As far as he could, see, three men had survived the squad's massacre.

He noticed one of them, Snatch, collecting the pauldrons from his brother's bodies. He wanted to ensure they were kept clean and ready for any new members. He knew Snatch was extremely pessimistic, but he enjoyed to see new brothers, and this pessimism was caused by seeing his new comrades on the ground, dead.

He patted him on the shoulder in passing, the other three transferring the pauldrons to his belt. Tusk trailed behind him, assessing the damage.

Skywalker had moved in the opposite direction, accompanied by Kai-Adi-Mundi, and their respective Clone Commanders. They were speaking of a plan about invading the Droid Foundry, and destroying their shield. Shard was not apart of the battle. He was merely a bit of muscle to break ground. He would likely lead his men into a smaller, weaker planet. This many losses would demoralize his men.

His men were altered, but not in the way the Fett Clones were. He knew he and his men were genetically altered, with strength and speed and intelligence, but also rage and violence. They were also fully possible of committing mutiny. He wouldn't let things go to that. His men needed him, and if they were hunted down...

A shiver ran down his back at the thought.

No one deserved to be honored, then dishonored in an instant. Not the bloodiest warrior turned warlord, not the most innocent man turned hardened killer by things they couldn't control.

He spoke briefly with the commanders, and decided to leave a detachment of the 300th, and ordered Clicker down to assist. He and tusk would go elsewhere. After all, they were best at dealing with places with ships, not foundries.

* * *

 _Personally, idk how I feel about this one. I kinda skimped out of doing this Arc as there wasn't rly any place for him as added muscle. If there is enough people desiring it, i'll edit the chapters in the future to add him in, but it just doesn't feel right. Geonosis is the Clone's fight, the 'Regs' fight, and these ain't regs. Anyways, the next part will be a long anticipated one for me to write; The Clone General vs The Droid General. I will look forward to it but my school starts tomorrow, and I will not have a lot of time *sobs*. See you guys soon. -Cloaked Writer_


	8. Post-Chapter character movement

_This is going to be an explanation chapter, very small I know, but it will show the individual stories of Clicker on Geonosis, Tusk on Mimban, and end in Shard visiting Coruscant, and a reunification in the Felucia ARK where he meets Eeth Koth, and the Dreaded Droid General. This will be very short, as this is more explanation then story driven. Yes, I decided to bring back the Geonosis Ark, I decided to compromise with myself because A) its an amazing story ark and it would be cool, but not with the ENTIRE group, as that would just be overkill. and B) zombies vs Tusk sounds awesome. I have also begun another story which I will be releasing the prologue of soon. I have yet to think of a title, but it involves the Empire, so stay tuned for that._

* * *

Two of the five warships remained in the atmosphere, accompanied by the Auxiliary droids captured from the battle of Ryloth weeks prior. Shard and Tusk took their commands away from the battle in the remaining three ships, and drifted away into deeper space.

" _We need to find a soft sport, somewhere we can hit fast. A ship yard, or a droid ship. Anything in space, not another land assault."_ Tusk told his General from his own ship.

Shard nodded. He understood the situation well, but he had a plan to both pacify some of his men, and strike at a weakness.

"It appears that the Separatists just pushed forward on Mimban. There should be a few ships to capture, a few droids to wreck, and some Separatist channels to listen too. Do you think you can handle that, Commander?" Shard asked, glancing at the hologram.

" _Of course, Sir. But... Where will you be?"_ The Clone Marshal Commander asked, his opaque head cocking to one side.

"I think this group could use some rest. I am giving them leave on Coruscant, and I have some matters to discuss with the Jedi." Shard said. Tusk seemed... unsettled. strange and quiet sputtering sounded from the hologram. Shard at first assumed the noises were feedback, but he later recognized them to be muttered swear words. Tusk had taken the unspoken and unintentional prejudice from the Jedi Generals personally, far more than even Shard had taken them. Shard shook his head.

He did not want this to take root, but it was too late.

"I will see you soon. When your siege is over, let me know. You will likely be giving air support, and minor ground support." Shard clarified, bringing up a hologram of the planet with status readings of the planet. The planet was a darker hue, and of incredibly bleak terrain, with torrential storms and strong precipitation drenching the surface. Readings noted another contingent of troopers on the surface, but they were trapped on the planet and could use reinforcements." Shard said. Tusk was silent for a moment, appearing to read the information.

" _Understood, Sir. Enjoy your leave._ " He said politely. The hologram flickered out, and he could see a faint blur from the distant view-port, and he saw two ships vanish, one of whom he recognized as the RSD _Splinter_ , Tusk's unofficial flagship of his own miniature task force. The RSD _Mooncrow_ and RSD _Chip_ stayed behind, remaining to aid Clicker and the republic capture of Geonosis. He had taken the troops that had been a part of the landing, and some of the Skull survivors. They needed some way to release their pent up aggression and sorrows. A few nights at 79's and meeting up with the girls would clean that out of their system.

"Captain, set course for Coruscant." Shard ordered, removing his helmet, followed by a cheer by all on the bridge. He smiled wide, ignoring the pain. He always loved to see his boys happy. The stars sped past into a blur, as they entered hyperspace.

* * *

 _This is a very short entry that is only to provide an explanation of where some of the characters would be during the continued split of the characters. I apologize for how long this took to get out and for its size, but school comes first and it is a very interesting senior year *tears*. Anyways, I will continue on a pattern: Geonosis, Mimban, Coruscant. I am also planning to release the prologue to my first Epilogue Path that I have planned for this story, so stay tuned for that as well. I have a lot of things beginning, and a bit of personal troubles going on at the moment, so I may be delayed to once every few weeks. Regardless, this story isn't ending until the dreaded arrest of then Chancellor Palpatine, so you have no worries about that. Until later, Cloaked Writer out._


	9. Chapter 7: Trust

_OK! This took an incredibly long time and I severely underestimated how long it would take to release these. Due to school, and personal/family issues, I will be restricted to every few weeks, if not every few months. I apologize and wish I could do more, but this is the sad reality. However, if it takes me years, I will finish this. I am also drawing up plans for two sequels, named "The Admiral" and "The Patriot", and two independent star wars stories about an Imperial Officer with a conflict of interest, and if Thrawn had a Chiss accomplice in his rise to power. Without further ado, here is the first installment of Clicker's Arc about Geonosis. (I am not sure that if this will play out to be one massive story that is the ENTIRE Geonosis Arc, or just by the different episodes), and then move to Tusk which will be a single chapter, and Shard in turn which may be multiple chapters, then a mile stone of a battle with General Grievous. Just showing my cards so you guy know what to look forward to. If any new/returning readers have suggestions or questions, please leave a comment and ask, I would be happy to answer! (I hope you realize I have nearly called one of my teacher's 'Shard' instead of his given name 'Shears' more than once, just so you are aware of the impact this is having on me XD) -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

 ** _Airspace of Geonosis, 22BBY, The Clone Wars_**

The swarm of Republic LAAT gunships filled to bursting with Clone Troops, all painted with striking green accents on their armor. Inside one of the gunships, stood Luminara Unduli and her apprentice, Barriss. He peered down at the surface with a monitor, a feeling of doubt beginning to creep it's way into her mind. Generals Kenobi, and Mundu were recovering from injuries, and Shard had to leave the system due to the damage the assault would have on his men. She lifted her chin, looking towards the pilot.

"Captain, the only safe landing zone is south of Skywalker's position." She told him.

"Yes, General!" He said, momentarily glancing backward towards the Mirialan.

"Barris? I assume you have made the necessary preparations?" She asked her Padawan Learner, glancing back to the teenager ever so slightly.

"Precisely as you instructed, Master" She said, closing her eyes and bowing.

"Buckle your belts and check yourselves soldiers, we're going in!" The Clone lieutenant named Buzz said, his battered helmet turning around like the menacing bow of a ship.

At his cue, all the Clones readied their blasters. The planet was still under hostile control, after all. An ambush or surprise raid from the sky could happen at any moment.

* * *

Clicker, his men, and the men of the 501st sat in a semi circle on the ground in the briefing. Commander Tano was leading the meeting... sort of. General Skywalker, as all reports polity underlined about him, he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"This bridge is our first way point," Ahsoka began, pointing towards a holographic cutaway map of the area. General Skywalker's blue astromech droid, R2-D2 stood by, silently projecting the hologram.

"Focus your fire on the gun emplacements here and here, because it's-" She said, pointing towards the map and causing large red spheres to appear, showing where the hostiles were. However she was cut of by her Master, who stepped in front of her.

"Because it's only after we neutralize the guns, can we push forward to the factory"

"I was... Yes, we can push for the factory. Now expect stiff resistance-" She attempted to continue, before being cut off and pushed out of the way again by General Skywalker.

"And! Don't forget to top off your energy cells and ration packs. Once we leave, there will be no resupply. Anything else, Ahsoka?" Anakin finished, turning towards his Padawan.

"No. You pretty much covered everything. In _my_ briefing." She said, with a distinct edge in her voice.

Clicker ran his hands through his hair. He had just cut it before Shard announced that they were going to Geonosis, and he had not had the time to dye it his favorite shade of blue yet. Getting used to this bickering would take some time to get used to.

"Very well. Squad, dismissed." He said, and the troops stood up, moving to their respective duties. Clicker slipped his helmet back over his head and moved to turn away, catching more of the argument between Ahsoka and her Master. _Come to think of it, I'll never get used to that_ He thought dryly.

But Clicker had to admit; It payed to have Jedi around.

Jedi Skywalker, cutting through legions of droids with a charisma and flair rivaling any propaganda either side could dream up. His apprentice behaved and fought like his miniature, and even Clicker had to chuckle when they both got fired up at one another. There was nothing, that could amount the the Jedi's moral boosting abilities on the battlefield. But even then...

He had nothing against the Jedi, neither did the other men...

But there was that slight... distrust, that we were not equals to them. Not rank wise, of course. We were subordinate troops, and needed to obey our superior officers, but some Jedi had behaved with a certain condescending manor.

It was that same manor of condescending dislike that had draped over Jedi Master Luminara Unduli.

Clicker was picking at the droid brain of the Geonosian model of battle droid, seeing if anything useful could be scavenged from the data-banks, when the 41st Elite Corps and Jedi General Luminara Unduli and her Padawan learner Barriss Offee, arrived in their gunships, and were greeted by Captain Rex, before moving towards Anakin and Ahsoka with the fluidity of ghosts. He was too far away from the group to hear what they were saying, but he saw Anakin and his Padawan still arguing, when the Mirialan pair approached. There was a brief exchange, what Clicker assumed to be introductions, and they began their own respective plans. Clicker turned back to his droid. He felt something moved across his face, and he removed his helmet quickly; he didn't want to be bit by some sort of insect. However, when he touched the source of the discomfort, he saw that it was a bead of sweat.

He grunted and flung it off his finger. _I'm not nervous. Why should I be nervous?_ he reasoned with himself. But, he knew he was right to be nervous. Shard knew how to implement these troops, and make sure nothing happened to cause them to rise up. The Jedi didn't know how to do that, did they?

He looked around, his men readying their weapons and AT-TE's, as well as the few AT-SATs that survived. For their sakes, he hopes they did.

He heard fast paced footsteps behind him, and turned in time to see the Padawans Ahsoka and Barris go flying past with backpacks on. He glanced towards the Masters, and saw Luminara seemed completely calm about letting her Padawan go, but Skywalker seemed restless. He returned to his battle droid head; no sense in stalking superior officers. Besides, it wasn't his concern on what the Jedi did with their apprentices. He frowned and tossed it to the ground; nothing useful in the tin brain.

* * *

Clone Marshal Commanders Gree, Rex, and Clicker were summoned by the Jedi Generals in order to explain their plan. Once the Clones were all present, General Skywalker stepped forward, his R2 unit activating a hologram of the battlefield.

"We have sent our Padawans out to attack the central system of the Factory, and we need to organize a diversion. We are going to march across the bridge in Parade Formation, in order to entice them out of the factory, and have their full attention. This will be incredibly dangerous, so I need your men to be prepared to fight." Anakin said, his hands folded behind his back.

"What if we need to fall back, Sir?" Clicker asked him, pointing towards the bridge.

"Chances are ten to one that they have a trap in wait for us, either a flanking maneuver, or else mines." he finished, his dark helmet glaring in the alien sun. Anakin pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"You have a point. How about some of your men, and the AT-SATs stay in reserve with the cannon barrage, so we can have a strong final defense if or when we are forced back." Anakin reasoned. Clicker blinked behind his helmet.

"Y-yes, sir!" Clicker said, slightly stunned. He had figured that the Jedi would simply disregard his request, and that he and his men would be devastated in the attack; but Anakin showed clear concern for him and his troops.

"I agree with Master Skywalker. You and your men can hold our line, however if a group of your remaining Skulls could hold up the rear in anti-flanking formation, that would be most appreciated." General Luminara asked.

"Of course, I'll talk to Snatch right away."

"Very good. We need to speak to Rex and Gree on our formation, you should probably tell your troops right away." Anakin said, nodding towards the holographic table.

"Yes, Sir!" Clicker said, saluting and walking away.

He approached a dormant gunship and slipped inside, trying to steady his shaking hands as he removed his helmet; his eyes incredulous. _The Jedi cared about them?_

* * *

Clicker approached Snatch, who was speaking to the two other Skulls that had survived. He was wearing no less than a dozen Pauldrons collected from his dead Skull warrior kin around his waist, making it appear from a distance that he wore a Kama.

"Snatch, I have one last mission for you and your boys, then we can get you up to space to rest." Clicker told the battered Clone.

Snatch hesitated, before sighing slightly.

"Alright, what do you need?"

"You will be taking up Rear Guard Formation behind General Skywalker's and General Luminara's columns of troops. They want to draw out the droids into a fight in order to divert attention from some saboteurs they sent in."

"Those saboteurs will be in for a hell of a time in those tunnels; I am surprised they didn't ask us to do it, or bring in Commandos..."

"They sent their Padawans in. All you have to do is make sure nothing surprises them from the air or from behind. Hopefully nothing will happen, but there is no one I'd trust more than you leading the defense." Clicker said, praising his brother's skills. He had hoped that the showered kindness on the brother would make him bend. It worked.

"Alright, alright! we'll do it, Sir." He said, his body language indicating thanks, and appreciation. He then moved away, and began talking to his squadron. He even tossed a Pauldron from his belt towards one of the nearby 300th Clone troopers, considering his worthy to stand at his side. Clicker was not authorized to comment on such things, but he made a mental note of the small usurpation of the chain of command in Shard's absence.

* * *

"Here come the droids... Everybody steady, steady! Keep marching!" Anakin said to his troops, as they marched forward in a sea of white with bespeckled black 300th Skulls scattered throughout, blasters raised in an attack ready formation.

"I hope the Padawans are past the bridge by now..." Luminara said solemnly.

The droids began flooding from the factory, an endless mass of orange and dark grey metal surging forward with a pre-programmed yet unflinching resolve for blood.

"That looks like a _lot_ of droids..." Anakin commented.

"Well it is a _droid_ _factory,"_ Master Luminara said with a small amount of humor in her voice.

"as long as we can destroy em' faster then they can make em', we'll come out on top." Skywalker said with a confident grin on his face. Luminara chuckled.

"I love your simple logic, Skywalker." She said, before the both of them activated their lightsabers.

The droids opened fire, a wall of red energy bolts burning through the air towards the columns. The Clones surged forward, however, four did not. Snatch and his three men held back by the tanks, observing the sky and making sure that nothing came out to attack from the ground or the sky.

The wait was hardly five minutes. Hordes of Geonosians gushed from the stone monoliths that were scattered across the surface like towers.

"All troops, open fire! Throw Incendiary Charges and fire! I want those things cooked!" Snatch shouted. He rushed towards the tanks and threw a dormant power pack at one of the turret gunners to get his attention.

"Take down all the towers, now!" He shouted up. He raised his blaster, and began firing at Geonosians. He only had his left eye, and that was beginning to develop a twitch, but he knew that he would fight them with his bare hands if he had too. And while Geonosians were strong enough to kill Regs, he knew that they would have their work cut out for them if they tried grabbing some of _his_ men, and that was not even close to what would happen if they laid one claw on him.

Bursts of orange fire-balls exploded in the air, sending eaves of heat and fire towards the towers, dislodging hidden cashes of Geonosians that were likely part of a wave system. Snatch redirected his fire towards the green spheres of sound, causing them to pop prematurely and explode in the air. In a single minute, the attack force was gone, with only one Reg casualty. The cannons moved forward, as well as the rest of the 300th Detachment.

However, from the factory, the living incarnation of death hovered out with a heavy mechanical grumble.

* * *

"Looks like the Seppies have a new toy," General Luminara said, glaring through a pair of electrobinoculars. Clicker stood beside him at attention, observing the battle field through his antenna binocular lense.

"Rex, pick your targets," Anakin said, turning his head to look at his Captain. Rex's acknowledgment was hardly heard through the mechanical din of the cannon's claws digging into the ground, and the barrels lowering to target the new mechanical monsters. They fired round after round of plasma shelled concussion rounds, filling the air immediately around the factory with black smoke. The firing ceased, and the smoke cleared to reveal that the vehicles were completely undamaged.

"Sir, Nothing could withstand it!" Rex called out, incredulity leaking into his voice.

"They must be rayshielded," Anakin replied, anger radiating from him, as his comlink chimed.

"The bombs are active!"

"The Padawans were successful!" Luminara said smiling.

"And just in time!" Anakin added.

The great shells of these tanks opened to reveal a gigantic array of cannons, which were then fired into the air.

"Get down!"

* * *

Clones scrambled this way and that, trying to avoid the crushing screen of missiles that were on their way to destroy the entire attacking force. Snatch felt something slide under his foot; an unsteady rock, as he fell flat on his back. looking up, he saw one of the rounds heading right for him. He struggled to get up, when suddenly, the Jedi were there. Anakin hoisted the clone up and used some enchanted Jedi leap in order to dodge the missile.

Clicker watched, stunned.

 _He_ saved _him, he risked his life to save a clone._

The rest of the battle went by in a blur, the only memorable parts being the destruction of the factory, and the resulting dig in order to retrieve the team, and that the Jedi once again risked their lives to stop the advance of the droid mechanisms by destroying the bridge.

But Clicker couldn't get that image out of his head, of an all powerful Jedi saving someone below him.

All the stories said they operated like that, but it was just incredible to see it actually unfold before his eyes, disproving the quiet rumors that perverted the Holonet.

The Jedi were all right.

* * *

 _This took ages, but here is pt 2. More too come within the month (hopefully). Cloaked Writer out._


	10. Chapter 8: Of Monarchs and Worms

_Heres Part 3, with a little bit of Karena the great. Enjoy! -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

 ** _Surface of Geonosis,_** ** _Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ship bridge, 22 BBY_**

Clicker stood across from a healed Jedi General Mundi, analyzing a large hologram of Geonosis. He held up his hand, and used the hologram to trace a platoon's movement from their landing zone, towards the fourth quadrant of the Northern Hemisphere, then back towards the equator and to the Ebon sea...

His thoughts were interrupted briefly by the loud whoosh of the door to the bridge opening. He looked up quickly to see General Kenobi move towards General Mundi.

"What's this? I didn't expect to see you walking about." He said in a joking manor to his colleague.

"After enough time in a bacta tank, one longs or the mundane comfort of star charts." Mundi replied, a pleasant smile on the Cerean's face.

"It seems to have done you some good, your wound looked almost healed,"

Clicker saved his work onto a datafile, half expecting the pair to turn to the map and require a clean slate.

"I wish I could say the same for most of my men."

"Well, lets make sure we don't have to take Geonosis a _third_ time. Poggle's forces seemed to have come from the Northern Hemisphere," General Kenobi said, turning towards the hologram pod and towards the map. Clicker pressed a button, wiping clean his marks from the displayed planetoid and stepping back.

"And where was Master Unduli's last contact made from?"

General Kenopi pointed towards a small discoloration on the planet, towards the equator.

"This region, farther to the west. But there is nothing out there according to our latest Intel."

Clicker lowered his head and moved to stand away from the pod, when a loud chime filled the bridge.

"Incoming transmission, Sir!" a nameless Clone said from a monitor.

"Put it through." Clicker ordered.

The Planet was replaced with the holographic form of General Unduli.

"General Kenobi, I believe I have found the trail of Poggle,"

"What did you find?"

"It appears to be a munitions container of some kind,"

"It could just be debris..." Mundi said.

"I don't think so, there was no battle in this region" Unduli continued.

"It looks like Poggle was on a direct course, 11 mark 72, _that_ way," A Clone voice said, out of reading range of the hand held holographic disk, but audible through the sound detectors.

"Heading straight for the Progate Temple..." Unduli said with cautious surety.

"That makes no sense, nothing in the temple could have survived the munition barrages in the first wave of our attack, why would he risk exposure and go there?" General Mundi said slowly

"I'm not sure, perhaps he doesn't yet realize the extent to which we cleared that area." Unduli said.

Another whoosh signaled the door opening, and General Skywalker entered the room, datapad in hand and a grimace on his face.

"Master Luminara, we are detecting a sand storm heading your way," He said with great urgency

"No matter. Poggle is out in the open and I intend to grab him before he can get off world," She said defiantly.

Clicker grimaced at the slight bickering. We had a planetary blockade in place, there was no way any ship could get off world. It would be a waiting game, one we could win. Could she not see this? Or was she caught up in the moment of capturing such a high level leader of the Confederacy.

"I'd advise against it; you could get lost in the storm." Mundi reasoned

"Then we'd have to find both you _and_ Poggle." Kenobi added.

"I feel it is a risk worth taking," Unduli said firmly.

"As you wish," General Mundi said quietly, before ending the transmission.

And every minute afterwards, General Skywalker paced restlessly from the window, to the monitors in order to check for any transmission.

"What could be taking her so long? Something must have happened," He said an hour or so after her message had ended

"Patience, Skywalker. It's a delicate operation. I am sure we will have more information soon." Mundi said calmly.

"I must admit, I am troubled we haven't heard from her..." General Kenobi said calmly, but with a worried shell to his words.

"Let's not start worrying yet. Luminara is not one to take _unnecessary_ risks." Mundi said, calmly walking towards a seat.

* * *

It was several hours before they received another transmission.

Clicker had discreetly tuned into the Holonet on his datapad to see how Tusk and his detachment were doing on Mimban, when the loud notification rang throughout the bridge.

Her transmission flickered in and out of focus as the storm interfered with their transmission reading sensors.

"Master Kenobi! We tracked Poggle to the Temple but now there is no sign of him!" General Unduli all but shouted, trying to be heard over the storm.

"Go no further until we can send support. The storm is making things difficult, we can barely read your transmission as it is!" General Kenobi said, a worried urgency to his voice that seemed to be his pre-combat voice.

"Are you sure he went _into_ the Temple?" Mundi asked, his hand resting on the Holopod.

"Yes, we _saw_ him enter, but I think he has gone into the catacombs below," She said.

"Those catacombs go on for miles, I fear we may have lost him. Get yourself out of there-" General Kenobi said, before being cut off as the voice of General Luminara Unduli's Clone Companion howled in pain. The Hologram transmission cut off as Unduli activated her lightsaber.

"Master Unduli? Master Unduli!" Kenobi shouted, too late for the Jedi to hear him.

"We've lost the connection," Mundi solemnly reported. General Skywalker turned deliberately and marched towards the door.

"Where are _you_ going?" General Kenobi asked.

"Take a guess."

"We'll never get to her in this storm, the gunships can't handle it."

"We have to do _something_!"

"I am sorry Skywalker. We have no choice. We must have patience, and trust in master Unduli." Mundi said calmly.

"We'll leave as soon as the storm settles," Kenobi said firmly, then turning back to a monitor.

* * *

As soon as the storm lifted, two gunships burst into the sky and headed directly for the Progate Temple. Clicker brought two dozen members of his company, minus the Skulls, who were enjoying a well deserved break from combat. The gunships touched down outside the temple, and black and white armored Clones touched ground and rushed into the Temple. The 212th, and the 300th, all with their respective Clone Marshal Commanders, and all with their Generals, with the exception of the 300th.

"Stay alert, spread out and look around," General Skywalker said, motioning with his hand.

The Clone's dispersed, and it wasn't too long before they found something.

"Sir! over here!" Commander Cody called out to his General. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker rushed over to the commander, as did Clicker, only to discover the body of the Clone lieutenant that had accompanied her.

"Buzz is dead."

"Any sign of Luminara?" Skywalker asked.

"No, General."

"There as a struggle..." Kenobi said, before he broke from the group and stooped to the ground.

"This is not a good sign. Luminara's Lightsaber..." He said, holding up the weapon to his Jedi companion. Anakin looked at the body of the Clone, then down at the lightsaber.

"Poggle didn't do this... But maybe _that_ did!" He said, pointing up towards a large sculpture standing above a doorway. It was a strange Geonosian with a large flat crest across it's head, and a toothy snarl on it's face.

"That is one _hell_ of an ugly Bug," Clicker said in revulsion.

"I've never seen one that looks like _that,_ " General Skywalker began.

"I dont think anyone has. It could be the Geonosian Queen." Kenobi reasoned.

"The _Bugs_ have a _Queen?_ "

"A rumor. There has been no evidence of her existence..."

"Until now, you mean."

General Kenobi looked down the tunnel that the grand sculpture seemed to guard like a ferocious gargoyle.

"This way!" He said, turning back to his men, as the intense number of troopers filed into the tunnels.

"Come on men, let's move!" Commander Cody said sharply, turning on his helmet search lights.

* * *

For a long while they walked in silence, the only noise being the occasional metallic clink of the stock of the DC-15s's of the 212 soldier's weapons, and the whining feedback from Cody's locator. Clicker always preferred the DC-17m; no clanking.

"This leads to a dead end," He heard Cody say to his Jedi Genral.

"But _this_ way leads further down. Sir, I'd say that's our best bet."

"I'll go first." General Kenobi said, crouching lower to fit into the tunnel. He was followed by Skywalker, then Cody, and the other troops. Clicker went last. As he stouped down to enter the pathway, he heard a rustling behind him. He turned quickly, blaster raised and lights flashing-

To see a small little worm go writhing out of the light.

 _Stupid fauna_ Clicker growled internally, before ducking back into the tunnel and resuming his rear-guard formation.

What was disturbingly eerie about this catacomb, was the silence that perverted every twist and turn they entered.

Normally, an insect hive would have at least a few warriors guarding the tunnels, but it seemed like the entire hive and Clone force alike were holding their breaths, awaiting a single, horrific confrontation.

Clicker's dark thoughts were not disappointed.

A loud chime threatened to make Clicker jump, as General Kenobi reached behind him and activated his portable Hologram Disk. The shuddering form of the Jedi Master Luminara Unduli appeared in his hand. She was holding her hands out in an almost entreating fashion, but her hands were bound with binders and a look of horror was written upon her face.

"-aster Kenobi! If you're following me you shul- -et out! I repeat, _turn back-_ " Her own hologram disk was knocked from her hand, and a wingless Geonosian drone began to fight with her, trying to get her under his control.

Two loud screams sounded in Clicker's ears; one emitting from the Hologram, and another, identical one, howling from one of the tunnels.

"She must be close-by, come on!" Kenobi shouted, igniting his lightsaber and flying down the tunnel. Skywalker and the rest of the Clone force followed them, and were met with a bizarre, and terrible sight.

A horde of Geonosians stood awaiting them, and began to attack, gargling and screaming that horrid, alien yell. However, this was not the rushed motion of normal Geonosians, but the slow shuffle of something else. They're skin was not a healthy brown, but an old, dead, grey. Their eyes were white, and-

Some were missing limbs.

They weren't alive.

They were _dead._

"I don't like the looks of this..." General Kenobi said posthumorously. Clicker shook his head and unclipped a fire cartridge from his belt. He enjoyed General Kenobi well enough, but he took things almost as seriously as his former Apprentice did.

Another howl behind them signaled the pincer movement. Another hoard of Geonosian Drones and Warriors stumbled out of the darkness, hands outstretched. One warrior charged Clicker, who activated the incendiary rounds and began to fire. Hot orange bolts of raw energy burned through the air and caused deem burns to appear on the old, dead flesh. However, they didn't even react to the pain. Not even a _flinch_! They just kept coming.

A scream alerted Clicker that two of the 212th Clone force were being dragged off. He fired a few rounds, knowing that their armor would shield them to the burns, but no no avail. He jolted when a strong arm gripped his shoulder and spun him around, and he was greeted with the old and decaying smell of rotting insect tissue. The Undead Geonosian roared at him, and attempted to lift up his helmet. However, the creature underestimated his advanced Genetics. Dropping his blaster and seizing the beast's wrists, he pulled with tremendous strength, and ripped the creature's arms right from their sockets. This caused several of the Geonosians to waver slightly, as Clicker hurled them towards the hoard and picked up his blaster, resuming fire.

"Back, Everyone, back! Take out the tunnel supports! It's the only way!" General Kenobi's voice sounded from behind Clicker. He turned to see the General's back approaching him, as his troopers fired at the supports, burying the horde in a pile of dust and rubble. All of the Clones and the Jedi quickly charged down a smaller tunnel that branched off from the main walkway. The tunnel collapsed behind them as General Skywalker somersaulted his way to safety, covered head to toe in dust.

"What _were_ those things? We couldn't kill them!" He said, standing up.

"I have heard stories about a Geonosian Hive Mind so powerful, so strong, that it could maintain it's connection with it's warriors, even _after_ they have died." General Kenobi said, leaning against a tunnel support.

"And you think that's why we couldn't kill them? Because they were-"

"Already dead..." Kenobi finished.

"That can't be true... that's impossible!"

"Impossible or not, these creatures keep moving no matter if we cut them up or shoot them down..." He said, walking away. However, he stopped and turned to Anakin, igniting his lightsaber.

"Call for reinforcements."

There was a deep ping, and a growl of frustration.

"No signal!"

"We must be too deep underground." Kenobi reasoned. He turned to two of his troopers.

"You two, go to the surface and contact General Mundi. Tell him we need reinforcements."

"Yes, Sir!" One of the troopers said, before they both ducked into a tunnel that slanted upwards. Clicker distantly hear one express his gratitude of being chosen to leave the catacombs, before the were well out of earshot.

"Right, let's keep moving!" General Kenobi said, as Skywalker ignited his lightsaber and led the way with his Jedi peer.

* * *

They had walked a total of twenty steps when a scream of terror and pain through a helmet's vocalizer echoed shrilly through the tunnels. General Kenobi whirled his head and scrambled back towards the tunnel where the Clones had gone, with the entire force trailing behind him. The lights fell on the bodies of the Clones, a pool of blood around their heads and staining their pristine white armor; their throat's had been ripped out. Cody rushed forward to confirm if the Clone named Wooly was alright, but saw that he too was dead. Clicker rushed to check the one he knew to be named Gearshift, and lifted the helmet cautiously and with a morbid curiosity. His throat had been ripped to shreds by what looked to be teeth, the windpipe crushed. The jaw had been popped out of the socket on one side, in order to further reek damage on the Clone and snuff out his voicebox. He bowed his head, and closed the body's eyes; the last look of terror now veiled by his lids. He pressed his thumb firmly onto the forehead and whispered a prayer in Mandolorian in the warrior tradition of wishing a valiant warrior on to his next battle.

"Obviously these creatures are far more powerful that we assumed. I am going to the surface to alert General Mundi myself." General Skywalker said with incredible zeal in his words.

"I think that would be a fool-hearty move, Anakin. We cannot divide our troops again; we don't have time to double back to the surface. Every moment we waste could put Master Luminara in greater danger." General Kenobi told his companion.

They continued further into the bowels of the catacombs, in relative silence but jumping at every other sound that we heard, be it a distant groan or a slight crunching of someone stepping on the strange yellow-orange eggshells that were scattered across the floors.

In one of the latter tunnels, General Kenobi broke the silence.

"The air is warmer down here... We must be getting close."

"Oh, forget the _heat..._ " General Skywalker said, cutting him off and coughing.

"It _smells_ down here!"

"Keep your voice down!"

"I'm just _saying!_ This planet is rotten to the core..." And then he stopped. They had arrived in the center of the Catacombs.

A massive horde of Geonosians, living and dead, stood encircling a massive worm like creature coiled in the center of the room, resting on a soft bed of sand and with a small ring of what looked like eggs. The worm like creature was large and bulbous, but where it's head would be, a figure, identical to the statue Clicker had commented on earlier, rested with the regal authority of a Monarch.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." General Skywalker said in a low voice.

"It must be... _the_ Queen. Any sign of Luminara?" Kenobi commented to his Clone Marshal Commander Cody. Cody activated his infrared Visor and looked out upon the crowd.

"Yes, Sir! She is suspended in the throne"

"Perfect... What about Poggle?" Anakin asked.

"He's... Speaking with the Queen."

"Good, you take the Soldiers, I'll take the Queen."

"Must you _always_ rush into things!" Kenobi chastised.

"Oh no... You don't actually want to _talk_ to it do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I _do._ Anakin, don't you wonder _why_ they took Luminara captive? Why not just kill her?"

"She's _leverage,_ she's a _hostage..."_ General Skywalker listed off.

"A Hostage for _what?_ No, there's something else going on here. And these... Zombies, are connected to it."

Clicker shook head head. These had to be the two most argumentative Commanders in the history of military operations. They cared for their men, sure, but this was a stretch to the humor, that had long worn out it's welcome.

" _Fine,_ we'll try it your way."

" _So_ glad you agree. Cody, Clicker, set up your men around the perimeter. These creatures live in darkness; the light from your helmets should blind them temporarily. Turn your lamps on at my signal. It should create enough confusion for us to get Luminara out of here."

"What happens when the Bugs pursue?" Cody whispered.

"He has a point, you have seen what they are, we _can't_ kill them" Clicker added in a whisper.

"We'll have to bury them. It'll at least slow them down. Shoot out the support pillars and this whole place will collapse." General Skywalker added. Kenobi nodded.

"Lets go."

Clicker and the clones stood tense amungst the pillars as the Jedi, either very brave or incredibly stupid, approached the queen. The undead Geonosians lurched forward, snarling and howling, but froze in their tracks at a howled command from the Queen.

"I thought I told you _not_ to follow me?" The amplified and echoing voice of General Unduli questioned the approaching Jedi. The reply, presumably from General Kenobi, earned a loud shout of indignation from General Skywaker.

" _You, You are the creatures that attack Geonosia! Why have you come before... Me?"_ She asked in a howling screech, with a heavy accent

Clicker blinked. Did the queen not know what her Archduke was doing? Did she not know what he had signed her people up to do?

General Kenobi placed one foot forward and began to speak.

"Your Majesty, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, and this is Anakin Skywalker. It is our sad duty to inform you that your rule is, at an end."

" _You, will not dictate to me, Jedi! My Empire is forever!"_ She screamed from atop her egg-sack.

"I am afraid it does not appear that way, your grace. You will release the Jedi Luminara, and submit to Republic Law."

The Geonosian Queen let out a deranged howl of rage and disgust, before breathing in a deep, wispy breath and speaking in a low, soft tone that was far deadlier than her words before.

" _I will no_ submit, _to you!"_ She declared, as two of Poggle's guards pointed Geonosian Sonic Blaster's towards the two men. Clicker saw a burst of blue light as Anakin ignited his lightsaber, but it was swiftly deactivated and confiscated by the guards.

"Your highness, destroying us will only make the Republic's judgment of you _harsher._ " Kenobi warned, looking up towards the gargantuan Geonosian.

" _No, Jedi, no! I no_ destroy you, _I..._ Devour _, you. I will_ control _you."_ she drawled, flexing her fingers menacingly.

" _I have but_ one _Jedi that Young Poggle bring me, but_ now _, I have three!"_ She said, rearing back and waving her little arms in the air.

" _Now, watch as my child enters your Jedi friend. And once inside, her mind, becomes my mind. Her thoughts,_ my _thoughts!_ " She added with sinister air, as an undead Geonosian stepped towards pogg,e handing him one of the yellow eggs that Clicker had seen scattered about the catacombs. Skywalker and Kenobi seamed to engage in a whispered argument, inaudible to Clicker, but Luminara's responses, amplified due to the suspension shackles, echoed throughout the cavernous throne room.

"No, I _don't."_

"I disagree!"

Poggle stepped closer now, holding one of the yellow worms towards her face.

"I hope you have a _plan?"_ She asked as the worm slithered around her head. Kenobi said one final word to her, before letting out a bellow.

"Cody, now!"

The Clones rushed out into the open and turned on their lights, blinding all of the Geonosians and causing them to cover their eyes. The Jedi pair, through cleaver manipulation of the force and using their combat prowess, quickly retreived their lightsabers, dispatched a few Geonosans, and already had Poggle in binders before the Undead drones or the Queen knew what had happened. The drones lunged forward towards the troops, who began firing at the hoarde, before backpedaling towards the entrance and firing at the support beams.

By some twist of fate, they arrived to the large cylindrical tunnel upwards that lay in the center of the Progate Temple. Clicker heard the Jedi say something, but he wasn't listening. He was too busy climbing and forcing his men up ahead of him. Suddenly, a surge of air lifted everyone upwards and out of the temple, before it colapsed behind them.

"All things considered, that went rather well." Skywalker said, coughing slightly.

"I wish we could have gotten one of those worms. It could have helped us learn how they captured Geonosis the last time." Kenobi countered.

"Well, let's hope the secret is buried with her."

Clicker didn't care. The only good bug was a dead one. And the only place for a Clone, Clicker had learned, was alongside a Jedi. If they weren't there, there was no way him or his men could have gotten out of there alive.

* * *

 _Good jesus that was long. Anyways, the next story will be a one part showing of Tusk and_ his _unique experiences with the Jedi, and then Shard's visit to Couruscant. Until next time, Cloaked Writer out._


	11. Chapter 9: The Mess at Mimban

_Welcome to the short but deadly conflict that is the Battle of Mimban! Good god this is taking ages, but I enjoy writing this, even if it takes an_ _eternity. -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

 ** _Surface of Mimban, 22 BBY_**

The LAAT Gunships roared through the air, dodging lime green and crimson bolts of lightning that the skies sent down in ragefull spasms, as if the sky's themselves disproved of the dark soldier's mission on the planet, or else it was a dark omen of the danger that the men of the company were to face.

One of those were to indeed come true.

A wayward bolt clipped the wing of one of the gunships, causing it crash into the muddy terrain below, the unstable ground seemingly consuming the ship as soon as it made contact. Tusk shook his head darkly. He would make sure to personally see to it that any man that made it off of this rock would be honored with the name of Skull, even if they didn't get a Pauldron for their efforts.

They landed near the Command Center of the 224'th Attack Battalion, and of Jedi General Losk Maltiaski. And Tusk knew the moment that he laid eyes on the man, that working under him, was going to be a hell worse than anything the droids could throw at them.

"About _fucking_ time you boys showed up. Those droid's are tearing us to shreds, get your men to the front; Lead will tell you what to do; look for the Clone a little bit dirtier than anyone else. I'd signal them to expect you, but our communications are being jammed, so try not to sneak up on them." The Jedi said dismissively to the Commander. He was Human, with a long head of black hair, that was a stark white towards the endings of the strands, giving the impression that quills sprouted from his head. He had a small, short beard that ended abruptly and with sharp, uneven strands of hair, giving the impression that the beard was longer, and had been cut off abruptly and without his consent. His eyes were a sinister and maleficent yellow, suggesting and showing a surprising amount of cruelty in this Jedi's behavior and aura.

"Yes, sir." Tusk said stiffly, before motioning for his men to get back into the gunships. _Why didn't they just signal them to head to the front instead of insulting them?_

As soon as the troopers were in the ships, they encountered a problem. The winds were too strong to take off, and the gunships couldn't handle it.

"Looks like we will have to march there on foot." Tusk called out to his men over the general com.

"All squads, meet up with your lieutenants and rondevou at the forward command. Double time!"

* * *

Tusk and his own troopers had barely entered the muddy jungles when they were set upon by the elements. They lost one soldier to a lightning bolt, and another to a falling branch from one of the gargantuan trees.

It was a death trap.

And they hadn't even met the wildlife.

The squad lost two more men to something small, a canine creature, but smooth and dark. Tusk only caught a glimpse before it dissipated into the gloom, dragging a screaming soldier with him, and leaving the other to bleed out on the jungle floor.

The creature, an Anoobas that had escaped some hunter's trap or hunting reserve years prior, attempted to kill Tusk himself. He broke the creature's neck, then smashed it's skull on a rock. _No chances_ he thought to himself, casting aside the stone as he and his men moved on.

It was sunset when they met the Apex Predator; the Wandrella.

They heard it before they saw it, a loud scratching noise as it slid towards them, the sounds of trees cracking and snapping, and the terrified howls of terror as jungle fauna fled the monster's rampage.

It reared over the treetops, and sent down an eardrum rupturing roar down over their heads, the cream colored body standing out in the jungle.

Blue light flashed in Tusk's eyes as he fired upon the monster. The bolts sank into it's flesh, showing no blast scoring or visible wounds, but it did _something,_ because as soon as they began firing, the monster struck down like a serpent, crushing Clone after Clone.

Tusk blinked, and he was in the creature's mouth, the toothless but powerful mass of muscle enveloping his torso. He jutted out his wrist, and the Electric Current Cable fired out, piercing the giant slug.

It exploded in a shower of white slime and light green gore, staining some of the Clone's white instead of their characteristic Black Plastoid. In the center of the carnage was Tusk, covered head to toe in the white goo.

"Troops. Move out. The next thing that delays us, I will kill with my bare hands." He said venomously, before snapping and pointing in the direction of Lead's last known location.

* * *

The troops eventually made it towards the rendezvous point at dawn, and the situation was not a positive one.

The task force had lost over a quarter of their men in the trek alone, and an entire squadron encountered a Droid patrol, and routed an intended Droid pincer moment. But that had only delayed a further confrontation.

The Clone Marshal Commander, Commander Lead, a plainly armored Cline, with the gadgets, Pauldron, and Kama appropriate to his status, but everything was colored _white._ White Kama, White _everything._ He wore a dark brown cloak over his armor, unless it was white and was only brown due to mud.

"Tusk! It's good to see you. Our men are holding the line, but we have Spiders and Supers dug in deep, and Commandos have been taking potshots at our night patrols for a week or so now. Station your troops along the front lines, with luck we should finish this by the end of the month." He said, seemingly throwing dates around without a care to this, or any other, world.

"I'm sorry, but did you say a _month?_ We need to finish this _now!_ Hell, we needed this fortress under Republic control last week!" Tusk demanded, at first keeping civil, but his rage exploded out, spittle spraying inside his helmet.

"We just don't have the Intel..."

"That can be remedied. Get your Advanced Recon units out there scouting the terrain. If they need a scent to scare off local wildlife, scrape off some of the shit thats over my men's armor. We encountered a Wandrella on the way here, the smell should keep off any predictors."

The Commander was silent before a moment, before nodding.

"I'll get my troops sent out immediately!" He confirmed. He moved to walk past him, but Tusk caught his shoulder.

"If we stick to _my_ plans, we can end this by sunset. But only if you _follow my lead._ " He said darkly.

"I will follow the orders of the General. If your _plan_ happens to coincide with his direct orders, then sure. No problem." Lead shot back, shaking off the hand.

"And _what_ are his orders, pray tell?" Tusk asked in a challenging tone, crossing his arms.

"To obey his commands to the letter." Lead called back to him over his shoulder.

Tusk growled. He knew of commanders like this.

He had been interested in history, unlike his fellow Clones, particularly Military History. The Wars of the Republic and the Sith Empire, the Mandalorian Wars, and the track records of the CIS military leaders they were one hundred percent certain were allied to The Confederacy. But there was a constant in every war, and every few commander. It was a similarity that was best compared to metallurgy.

When a man was firm, like steel or Cortosis, he could deflect harsh blows and win victories. But if he was too unflexable, then he would be brittle. He could shatter, or snap.

If one was firm enough to refute blows, but retain some level of flexibility, like Plastoid, then the commander would stand strong, and win every battle he entered.

This Jedi and his Marshal Commander were brittle leaders. Tusk would not let the Republic loose Mimban because of a pair of overzealous commanders would refuse to see sense.

His thoughts were interrupted by a gunship landing in the center of this makeshift forward command post.

The doors opened and none other than Jedi General Maltiaski stepped out, his hands folded behind his back and his head pointed upwards as he looked down his nose at every soldier that entered sneer distance. Tusk's eyes narrowed under his helmet at the rude and incompetent commander. And he had another bone to pick with the man, and he addressed this issue with the man himself.

"General, I thought you said that the ground was too muddy to take off from." He asked bluntly. In truth, it was less a question, but more a statement of fact.

"Ah, Rust, wasn't it? Yes, you're gunships happened to land in a more muddy part of our camp, and were unable to take off." The General said calmly. before ducking into a command tent. Tusk followed the man, still not satisfied, only to see that he was ordering the entirety of the command center staff out of the tent.

"I would like some quiet and peace while I work, please tell your men to refrain from disturbing me unless it is the most dire of emergencies." He barked, pointing towards the door. Tusk at first attempted to fight the wave of soldiers, but he soon gave up and followed them out. He took a deep breath. _Keep calm, soldier. Keep calm. Don't get angry._ He told himself as he sat on a crate a short distance from the command tent. He was about to remove his helmet and consume a ration pack, when his personal comlink chimed.

The noise startled him for two reasons. The first, he was not expecting it. The second, that communications were supposedly jammed!

He pressed a finger to his ear and spoke in a quiet tone.

"Who is this?"

"Sir, this is Boar from the Central Command Center, Gunship pilot of the 300th. Someone _did_ sabotage the 224th communications, from _inside_ the camp!"

"What?" Tusk said, sitting up.

"There is a traitor down there sir, only 300th comlinks are active, you have to inform the General!" Boar said frantically.

"The Gunships managed to pull free of the mud and are on the way with some remaining soldiers, but you need to tell him immediately so an investigation can get underway.

"Acknowledged, trooper. I'll get tell the General. Tusk out." Tusk finished, lifting his hand from his helmet and sighing.

 _Only in the most dire of emergencies_ Tusk thought grimly. Well, this was an emergency. the 501st defense of Christophsis nearly went under because of one man; the entire offensive was at risk. Put what he had against the General and his attitude, he was a Jedi and the Jedi were powerful. He needed his help.

He strode towards the tent and reached out with a gloved hand, but hesitated. Inside, the General was speaking, and what he just uttered was incredible.

"But where will _your_ men be, Commander? I do not want my men looking for droids where there truly _are_ troops sitting there."

Tusk's eyes narrowed, and that hand drifted towards his helmet entente, setting it to Holorecord, and drifted the device through the folds in the canvas.

And there it was, naked before Tusk's eyes. The Jedi General, speaking to a Tactial Droid's hologram.

[ _Our forces will be on the southern side of the Jungle, and within the Canyon. I calculate, very few of your men will see the trap in the low visibility, and be able to assume that it was 'mere luck'_ ] The droid's droning voice continued, gesturing to a vertical holomap.

Tusk stepped back, hardly daring to breath. He closed down the holorecording and saved it to a Holo Disk. He then clipped the object in his belt, and strode off at a fast pace. He needed to find Lead.

* * *

General Losk Maltiaski closed down the hologram, a small smile on his face. When his troops were slaughtered, he would join the Separatists and be a new Commander for the Confederacy. He turned and reached to pull back the tarp of the tent. When he did, his entire world fell apart.

The sunlight of the setting sun filtered into the tent as both flaps were pulled open, and Tusk stood with his hands on his hips, his shadow that of a giant.

"General, you are relived of duty."

"Mutiny, Commander? You won't escape this camp alive." Losk said with a dark smile.

"Oh, not when every Clone in the 224th knows of your betrayal." Tusk said, stepping aside and revealing Lead and his troops, DC-15A blasters raised and held in an attack stance.

"Come quietly, traitor!" Lead shouted, his voice livid.

The Jedi lowered his head, rage seething from him. If there were Jedi present, then they would have sensed it. But these were Clones.

Pathetic.

Little.

Clones.

The blue blade was ignited in a flash, and he dove forward to slash at the dark Commander who had discovered his plot.

Tusk sidestepped the being, who was too blinded by his rage to anticipate the Clone's simple maneuver. He drew a pistol, and fired. His eyes widened as a live round fired from the blaster and burned into the being's back, causing him to collapse to the ground. He let out one last gasp of air, then lay still. Tusk looked at his weapon, shocked.

His hand shook as he planted the weapon back into his holster, and let out a shuddering breath.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw Lead at his side.

"It's alright, sir. He was going to kill you; better him than you, you know?" He said, attempting to reassure him.

But that was not what troubled him.

What troubled him was that the Jedi had died so easily. One shot to the back, one lucky shot with a gun that he was _sure_ was set on stun.

If all the Jedi died this easily... Then the Grand Army of the Republic was in a perpetual state of grave danger.

The mission was completed in a matter of hours. With the information provided from the Hologram of the T series Tactical Droid lead to the utter destruction the droid forces, and the capture of the Planet for the Republic.

But the victory was bittersweet.

For Tusk had seen the true side of the Jedi.

And he was not pleased.

* * *

 _That's the end of this one! These are intended to show the differing perspectives of the different Clone Commanders, and will_ _eventually help them make some very important decisions. The next story will show the esteemed General Shard and his adventures on Coruscant. -Cloaked Writer._


	12. Chapter 10: A Duel Overdue

_OK! Ill be honest, I've had a lot of stuff going on in my life. I won't promise anything new, but I will at least have a new Arc started by Christmas, if not finished. I'm Sorry for the delays, and I hope I can get the next chapter done on time. I'm posting new stories, one a skyrim thingy and another a Star-wars standalone about an imperial officer. Enjoy -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

The Republic Star Destroyers slipped from hyperspace with a triumphant air of a victorious army, creating their own center of gravity from the amount of awards and praise that was planted firmly on their shoulders. However, it was the regular gleam of the star ships as they entered the airspace and docked in the Industrial Sector, and the Clone troopers were all ready to rampage towards 79's.

However, General Shard was not interested in the pleasures of women or the intoxication of cheap drinks.

He had a long overdue meeting he needed to attend.

* * *

As he sat down in the transport, and paying the Rodian the fee to travel to his destination, he activated his datapad and began looking into documents detailing his upcoming engagement. It would be taxing, strenuous even, but his honor and pride demanded it.

Master Kenobi, wanted it.

There was little documentation or holo-records of the Jedi fighting styles made public, and even his status as both a Clone military official and a General did little to push his search. There was nothing to be found. Not a single scrap of information on the Jedi fighting style whatsoever.

"Um, Mr. Clone? We're here." The Alien said, turning nervously to look at him. After thanking the being, and stepping from the transport, Shard looked up towards the imposing building in front of him.

The Jedi Temple.

Words could hardly describe just how _big_ this place was. And even for a regular person, like Shard, you could _feel_ the electricity in the air as _something_ was clearly going on within the walls.

As he reached the top of the ancient stone steps, two Temple Guards wordlessly stepped from the shadows, their flat masks a wall against the outside world.

But then again, so was Shard's helmet.

"Please remove your Helmet, and state your name and business." One of the guards said in a commanding tone.

Shard was puzzled by this confrontation, but he complied. If given thought, it made perfect sense. No one in their right mind would let just _anyone_ into the Jedi Temple after all, and there had to be confirmation that it was a Clone and not an imposer, or an assassin under that armor.

"I am General Shard, and am here to meet with Jedi Master Kenobi." Shard said calmly, squinting in the brightness of the noonday sun.

The two Temple Guards looked at one another for a long moment. He could not begin to fathom what was going on in that glance; confusion? Doubt?

Contempt?

"You are granted entry, however please come with us, you must be removed of your weapons before you enter the temple.

* * *

Shard cursed under his breath, tucking at the neckline of his tunic and trying to walk straight in the awkward boots. Those damn guards, deemed his suit as 'a weapon' due to it's spiked knee-plates, and requested him change into this... Jedi Robe!

It was surprisingly rough, despite it's appearance. However, with all of his issues with his current outfit he was glad he was not issued one of the brown coats; he would have tripped after taking three steps.

As Shard stumbled around the grand passageways, he couldn't help but marvel at the craftsmanship that went into this simple space intended to be rushed through as the Jedi went to and fro, doing... whatever Jedi do when they weren't in combat... 'Meditating'.

As he turned a corner, he passed a class of younglings, all being led by an elderly grey Jedi leaning on a thin black cane. The master narrowed his yellow eyes at the Clone, yet the younglings all seemed curious, and somewhat confused. The group passed Shard and exited through a small door, leading to a seemingly tranquil courtyard of flowers and green leafed trees.

As he turned back to continue his walk-around-the-temple-until-he-found-Kenobi Walk, he felt something small smack into his right hip. Due to his size, and his lack of balance in the damn boots, Shard went down like a wroshyr tree.

The object that caused his sudden acquaintance to the rich carpet of the Temple's hallway, was a youngling.

She was a young creature, of the Verpine species, hardly older then a hatchling. Her chiten was of an acid green hue, while her insectoid eyes were the color of pitch.

" _I am sorry, Master! I did not see you there!"_ She said in an insectoid chatter, her mandibles shuddering as she slowly tried to stand up, but repeatidly failed due to her awkwardly proportioned abdomen.

"Oh, it's quite alright. What's your name?" Shard asked, standing and helping the child up.

" _I am Aria."_ She said warmly. She cocked her head, her antenna quivering.

" _I do not recognize you, are you a new Jedi?"_ She gasped, holding her hands to cover her mandables.

" _Are you from another order of force users? I knew_ _Huyang was hinting at something when he told us-"_

"Actually young one... I am not a Jedi, or a force user."

She stopped celebrating and cocked her head to the side again.

" _Then... Who are you, sir?"_

"I am a Clone Trooper, one of the soldiers who fight in the war." Shard explained. There was something about this child, her questions were simple and slightly tedious, but there was a fine edge of humor to all of his answers.

"Why aren't you wearing your armor?"

"The Temple Guards thought it would be best if I changed into a tunic, due to all of the weapons built into the armor."

" _Weapons? Are you a Commander? Are you here to meet your General?_ "

Shard died inside, but kept a light smile on his face.

"Something like that. I'm here to spar with Gen- _Master_ Kenobi."

" _Ahh, I see. Sparring is- Wait. Sparring! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I am late for sparring practice with Master_ _Sinube! Do you know where he went?"_

Shard frowned and scratched his head.

"There was a Jedi who walked through here with a group of younglings before we bumped into each other."

" _What did he look like?_ "

"Old guy, walks with a cane?" He offered. Aria's facial expression didn't change. _Lots of old guys here with canes apparently._

"Ah... Grey.. old guy, with a cane?" He offered sheepishly.

" _Yes! That's him! Cmon."_ Aria said, seizing Shard's hand in her three fingered claw and pulling him along with her with surprising force down the hallway.

It took three doors, but she eventually found the courtyard, and Shard got a chance to catch his breath.

The younglings were all in pairs, and dueling with sticks to practice their lightsaber techniques, while the old Jedi Master Sinube watched over them. His tired grey eyes turned towards Aria with relief when she approached.

"There you are! I was getting worried. Where were you? And who is... this?" Sinube asked, his eyes widening slightly in recognition.

" _This is Commander Shard! He is here to meet with Master Kenobi in a sparring match. I thought maybe you could give him some tips!"_ She chirped brightly, and rapidly blinking her eyes towards the teacher.

The elderly alien smiled.

"I'd be happy to show him what I know." He said, guiding Shard a few paces back from the others in the class.

"Thank you for watching Aria. I'd say her disconnection from her hive is the reason of her short attention span, but that would simply not be accurate. Now, Let me show you the best way to execute Vaapad."

* * *

Obi-Wan Kenobi sat in the Lightsaber Training Dojo, meditating. He knew Shard was a little late, but he would be patient. As Master Qui-Gon always said; Patience Obi-Wan.

The door to the Dojo slid open with a hiss, and Obi-Wan opened his eyes to find a peculiar sight.

General Shard, dressed in a Jedi Tunic and boots, with a confident smile on his face.

"Sorry I'm late, it's easy to get turned around in here." He apologized sheepishly.

"It's quite alright. Are you ready to begin?"

Shard stepped towards the large rack of training instruments, and grabbed one of the wooden staves.

"Ready when you are."

Shard hefted the staff in both hands in a defensive position. Obi-Wan responded by seizing a staff of his own and pointing it towards Shard, holding out his hand with both his middle finger and index finger extended.

Kenobi struck first, swiping in a downward ark towards Shard's shoulder blade. Shard dodged, responding by swinging the staff with incredible force towards Kenobi's weapon, the force and sock of the weapon knocking the weapon from Kenobi's hand and into the air. Shard caught it and directed both weapon's at Kenobi, a sheepish smile on his face. Kenobi, unfazed, used the force to seize a third staff from the wall to continue his attack; his force enhanced strength splintering the wooden staves and knocking Shard to the ground. He offered the Clone his hand,

"Where on earth did you learn that?" Obi-Wan asked, surprised.

"I helped a youngling get to her class, and her master taught me a thing or two when he heard I was challenging you. Named Sinube."

"Ah, I thought I recognized that quick and powerful attack pattern. Well done."

They made their way from the room and into the hallway.

"I noticed you cleaned up that mess on Geonosis, how did the bugs treat you?" Shard asked, walking alongside the Jedi. Kenobi snickered.

"Terribly. We were forced to remove their entire hierarchy, and their queen was killed."

"The Bugs have a _queen?_ "

"I thought it was a rumor, but she was real all right. Not to mention she had a disgusting mind control template to... reanimate her dead drones and warrors. It was like something out of a nightmare."

Shard laughed, but upon seeing the man's serious expression, he stopped immediately.

"Wait, you're serious?"

"Ask Clicker, he was most disappointed in their lack of a general pain reflex."

"That sounds like him."

Kenobi's comlink chimed, and he frowned.

"Temple summons, that's odd. Come on, if it's something this important a fellow General should be in attendance."

Shard and Kenobi picked up their pace, hurrying to the communications center.

Shard expected a simple meeting on a new route into Separatist space. He instead found a hologram that would change his life forever.

* * *

 _This was a while in the making, and I am sorry again for the delays, I've had a ton of stuff going on in my personal life and grades falling behind, so I need to try to get my stuff together (mostly done but ehhh) and I'll try to post more by the end of this weekend, and I'll DEFIANTLY 100% post a crap ton around Christmas, I get lots of down time to write and edit during that time. Until then, Cloaked Writer out. :)_


	13. Chapter 11: Battle of Saleucami

_I am Sorry for all of the delays, but I finally got there! I have spent a bit of time after writing this to polish and perfect this so it is the best quality I can offer. Here is the beginning of Shard's long awaited rivalry with the good ol' General._

* * *

The Holorecording glowed an unnatural red, as the hacking metallic form of the Droid feind General Grievous appeared upon the holotable; the crumpled and dejected form of Jedi Master Eeth Koth at his feet.

" _Greetings, Jedi. It would seem that once again another member of your Order has lost his way._ " He taunted, grasping Eeth by the neck and dragging hip forward.

" _Even Better, a leading member of your Jedi Council._ "

His reptilian eyes, the only thing left in that barbaric tomb of metallic alloys and combat circuits, narrowed as he spoke.

" _Listen to me, Jedi. I do not care about your politics, I don't care about your republic, I only_ live _to see you_ die _!_ " He bellowed, pointing a clawed finger towards the weakened form of the Jedi Master, as an IG-100 Magnaguard marched forward with his Electrostaff, and proceed to shock the Zabrak. His tortured cries seemed to echo around the room, causing the few younglings who were in attendance to whimper, burying their faces in the sides and stomachs of the Jedi Padawans present, who looked on in sorrow.

Grievous held up his hand, and the Magnaguard ceased to electrocute the Master.

" _But death will not come so easily to Master Koth. I will make him suffer endlessly, because I know it will be more painful to you all_." He gloated, before letting out the laugh of a being who had lost his mind, before degenerating into his characteristic coughing fit as the recording ended.

There was a long, grave silence, before Grand Master Yoda finally spoke.

"Away with the younglings, much there is to discuss." he all but whispered.

"It's time we finally put an end to that monster!" General Skywalker said, slamming his fist on the holoprojector as the last of the children filtered out.

"Seconded," Shard said, his eye narrowing and his cybernetic implant dimming to mimic the movement.

"If we were to capture Grievous, the entire Separatist navy would all but be brought to a standstill." He continued, gesturing with a hand to the Jedi.

"On that, agreed we are. But how to find him, the question remains." Yoda said gravely, looking towards the Clone General.

Among the holograms of the various Jedi General spread throughout the Galaxy, General Koon's Clone Marshal Commander Wulf stepped forward, and whispered something in the General's ear. Shard only just noticed it out of the corner of his eye, but Jedi Master Kenobi did not, as he spoke to Grand Master Yoda.

"After Engaging Greivous, we lost contact with Master Koth. He could be anywhere."

It was then that Jedi Master Plo Koon interjected.

"Commander Wulf has found a message in the hollotransmission; playback the message."

The crimson image played once more on the center of the Holopod; Grievous standing in his characteristic hunch off to the side as his IG-100 droid electrocuted the Jedi Master. However, as he ceased on the General's command and as he continued his speech, Master Eeth Koth's hands…

"Look, hand signals!" Skywalker exclaimed at the Zabrak's now surprisingly clear movements.

"I admit my skills are rusty, but…" Obi-Wan began, before going quiet and studying the movements.

"Saleucami system… Sector J… 19… 080… 5… 29… " He finished, his brow relaxing.

"Saleucami? But our intelligence reports that Grievous has no ships in that sector." General Adia Gallia said skeptical, glancing towards Kenobi.

"Yes, but so often inaccurate, our intelligence is." Master Yoda reasoned.

"I should go." Kenobi said boldly, stepping forward.

"So will I" Skywalker added.

"And I." said Adia.

"I'm going as well. You can never have too many people when you are dealing with Grievous." Shard reasoned.

"Then decided, it is. Ready your troops for Saleucami, you must." Master Yoda said gravely.

* * *

The ships slipped out of hyperspace like ghosts upon the unprepared Separatist fleet. Five Venator-Class Star Destroyers, and four escort-class ships. Shard sat in the command center of the Arquitens-class light cruiser, readying his weapons and ensuring they were up to optimal performance, all the while trying to ignore the conversation of General Kenobi and General Grievous behind him. He activated the lever to release his Vibro-blade bayonet. If I die, it will be after that monster is dead. He thought viciously.

The light rumbles of blaster cannon fire echoed around the ship, indicating to Shard that the battle was underway. He nodded to his contingent of five men, who sat in grim silence.

"Well, we certainly have his attention…" Kenobi said dryly, before activating his wrist comlink.

"Admiral Yularen, keep Grievous's fleet occupied so Anakin's arrival is undetected."

"Yes General. Commencing attack!"

"Alright boys, lets get ready to shoot some clankers." Shard told his men.

"Silk, Dodger, Hot-head; you go and help the regs hold the door when we are boarded. Grievous knows Kenobi is on board and is going to stop at nothing to kill everyone on board. Cudgel, Breaker and I will hold the bridge with Cody and his boys."

"Sir, yes Sir!" the three men replied, before leaving the room and entering the hallway.

"Thank you for coming, General. This won't be easy, but I think we may be able to finally catch Grievous." Kenobi said, approaching Shard from behind.

"I hope so. This war has gone on for too long. While I know these boys are bred for war, it would be better to have a time and place without need of them."

"Well said. Cody, patch through the exact coordinates to General Skywalker."

"Patching through now, sir-"

The ship gave a dreadful lurch towards the Separatist flagship, knocking over all within the cockpit

"They got us in a tractor beam, sir! Should we fire on the source?" Cody asked, leaning against one of the pilot seats

"N-no, Codey. Let them think they have us. We need to be a diversion for Anakin"

"Fire shots at the ship as we are pulled close. Make them think that we are still fighting back!" Shard said, leaning on his modified DC-15A Blaster Rifle.

"Good call, General." Kenobi said over his shoulder, leaning against a monitor as the ship lurched again.

"Remember, we need to keep him on this ship until General Skywalker is clear. I'll go down to the hatch and join the defence."

"I'll hold here with Cudgel and Breaker, and be ready for when you get pushed back." Shard called to Kenobi's retreating back.

It had hardly been a minute when distant blaster shots sounded down the hallway, and the unmistakable sound of multiple lightsabers being activated.

* * *

Sargent Silk, named for his ability to sooth his brother's bouts of anger and remarkable sense of calm, had been named an honorary Skull at Geonosis. He did not bear the Pauldron, yet a red skull was painted upon his pauldron.

The door was pierced with four lightsabers, carving the sold durasteel in a circle, before being batted through the hallway; a massive breach joining the Separatist freighter and Republic light cruiser. Commando Droids poured through the gap, butchering Cody's Regs. Silk hurled a droid popper into the gap, while Dodger and Hot-Head laid down covering fire. However, they ceased their attack and hurled themselves to the side as it became clear that their bolts were being reflected back to them.

Two IG-100 Magnaguards boarded, followed by the figure all Clones feared. That hunched figure, that horrible metallic tread, and those eyes…

Yellow, reptilian eyes behind a metal mask.

"Focus your fire on the Droids!" Silk bellowed, switching his powerpack from Ion charges to Mandalorian Molten charges; better to damage the IG's systems so their deaths wouldn't be in vain.

There was no way a Clone could stand to Grievous. There was no way.

It was impossible.

Hot head let out a cry before rushing forward, ignoring the purple electricity coursing through his body as the IG-100's both lurched forward and electrocuted him, but not before putting a blast cap on the arm of one and detonating it, blanketing the room in black smoke.

Grievous was gone, having engaged the Jedi in single combat further down the bisected hall and ignoring the Clones. One less nuisance to deal with.

Cudgel's weapon jammed, causing him to activate the small vibroblade he had hidden on his belt and rushing forward, ducking under the jabbing motion of the guards and slashing across the central bulb. It left a deep mark, but did not end it's functionality.

"Shoot, Sir!" had been his last words as the guard impaled him, dislodging the limp body from their weapons with a buzzing flourish. He drew his holdout pistol and held the DC-17m, releasing hell on the guards.

Yellow bolts of hot metal and energy trailed side by side with blue plasma bolts, all absorbed in the maelstrom of whirling purple electro staffs. Dropping the pistol, Silk reached behind his waist and activated the cylindrical explosive at the back of my belt.

One…

They were advancing the burn marks starting to show.

Two…

They were grumbling something in their metallic droid-speak, likely proclaiming some pre-programed propaganda about the so-called glory of the Separatist cause.

Three…

"Long live the republic!" he shouted, before being consumed in the blast.

The others should have been alright, the only damage being a flareup in their heat sensors. But Silk knew that the droids would be gone, that his brothers were safe.

* * *

The door to the cockpit opened, and Kenobi backpedaled in, his lightsaber held aloft. Advancing on him was Grievous with two lightsabers ignited, flanked by one badly damaged IG-100 Magnaguard.

"So, Kenobi. Is everything going to plan?" the monster mocked.

"That depends on your point of view, General!" Kenobi said, fending off an attack from the Magnaguard before kicking it aside and blocking Grievous's attack. Shard and his men set upon the droid from their place pressed up against the wall, pinning down the mechanical menace and plugging Clicker's virus in its data banks. It was likely too advanced for the virus to take hold, but it would sure as hell fry its brain trying to reject the outside intrusion.

"Your powers have gone to ruination, Jedi!" Grievous taunted, having driven Kenobi into a corner. Shard stiffened, looking at the data-spike. Hurry, damn you, hurry!

"I hear a lot of talking, General, but in the final accounting, what does the top get you? A futile quest for power, a mutilated body, a your place as Dooku's errand boy!"

"I am no errand boy!" Grievous barked, almost comically disgruntled at the comment.

"And I'm not in this war for Dooku's Politics. I am the leader of the most powerful Droid Army the Galaxy has ever seen!"

Obi-Wan used the force to summon the fallen Magnaguard's Electrostaff from the floor and block another attack.

"An army with no Loyalty, no Spirit. Just programming. What have you to show for all of your power, what have you to gain?"

"The future." Grievous growled.

He lurched slightly, his arms splaying out like a horrible arachnid, or else something out of a nightmare as four lightsabers ignited in the clawed hands of the Droid General.

"A future where there are no Jedi!"

"No!"

* * *

 _[warning; hostiles detected. Defensive mode: Yellow, Delta movements suggested.]_

Grievous looked over his shoulder.

A single Clone, was rushing towards him from the other side of the cockpit. He was dressed in black armor, likely a member of that idiotic propaganda army; 30th army or something like that. He was adorned with a Kama, one of those ridiculous kilts the marshal commanders wore to indicate their status. In fact, his entire body was covered in gadgets that would suggest an Arc Trooper. His armor was accented with golden stripes, likely a platoon leader of some sort. Behind him, the Magnaguard lay deactivated on the ground, a data spike driven into the back of the head.

 _{Switching to Defensive style: Dok}_ He commanded. He would not allow himself to be shot in the back as he finally ended Kenobi.

 _[Error; combat style ineffective. Suggested defensive style, unknown.]_

Grievous brought the Clone commander back into focus. He had previously held some form of modified blaster rifle with a Vibroblade attached, creating a form of melee weapon. However, he had cast aside the blaster and was instead rushing forward with a horrendous battlecry.

 _What was he doing?_

With a yell, the Clone leapt upon the General, sending the cyborg to the ground with a crash. Without missing a beat, the dark trooper grasped one of the hands holding a lightsaber, and wrenched it free from his talons, and proceeded to sever two of the droid general's arms.

With a howl of rage, Grievous reached out with one of his remaining arms and severed the offensive Clone's limb from above the elbow, headbutting him and making his escape on all sixes as the nameless commander howled in pain..

 _{Damage report}_ he requested. He knew the extent of the damage, but he simply wished to see the damage it had to his ability.

 _[Limbs Beta and Delta have been gone; left side of body is open to attack. Minor denting to the main body.]_ his body reported

 _Got to get off the ship. Need to get out of here._ Grievous thought wildly. He made his way to the entrance hatch, only to find several Clones still alive and breathing. They hadn't seen him yet, but his metal clanking upon the ship's hallway floor would soon alert them.

" _Cody, Come in Cody! Grievous is headed your way_!" A pained Clone voice said from the shipwide intercom.

The Clones turned to see the cyborg general as he lurched forward on his two feet, spinning his two right arms defensively to block their blaster bolts. _Karabast_. He swore internally.

Lunging forward with a flurry of his blades, he spooked the troops and gave himself enough leeway to run down the hall and towards his ship. He dialed up the bridge on his comlink.

"Fire on the docked republic ship. Target their engines!"

"But, Sir! The republic ship is still attached!"

"It doesn't matter! Prepare all our troops for a landing on Saleucami."

He had hardly finished his sentence when he felt something hit him in the back, and an incredible force pull him backwards.

His first thought was Jedi trickery, yet the further he traveled the louder the grunts of the Clone Troopers became.

 _Damn pests_ he grumbled internally.

He did not have time to activate his sabers before they were on top of him, the fight devolving into a pitiful melee. One trooper landed a solid punch to Grievous's head, causing his sensors to briefly flicker.

Big mistake.

With a roar of anger, he ripped the troopers from his back and sprinted back down the hatchway to his ship.

He passed the bisected hallway, blackened by a small explosion and peppered with the charred plastoid remains of what might have been a Clone, and metallic shards of droids. Kenobi turned a corner, followed by two of the dark Clones, and the pitiful commander.

One of the damn Clones fired a shot with a sidearm before grievous boarded his ship.

But not before seeing that that blasted commander still held one of his lightsabers.

* * *

Their escape was slow, yet they managed to evacuate before the explosion could consume Anakin's small ship, docked at the bottom of the Providence-class dreadnought.

Shard winced again, looking to the wound. His arm, was just... gone. He had cauterized the wound with the lightsaber, so that-

His eyes widened behind the helmet, looking down at what lay in his hand.

"What is that?" General Adia asked, pointing to the weapon.

"It was Grievous, I pulled it from his hand in the fight."

He held it out to the Jedi.

"It belongs in the temple, you should return it. I need to get to a medical bay and get a cybernetic for this blasted arm."

"Of Course, General. Yet... there seems to be something familiar about this weapon..." She trailed off, as their ship docked in the Republic Flagship's hanger bay.

* * *

 _Woooooo its finally over! Lol ok celebrating aside yes I am here and am going to try to keep pushing out these stories. Cloaked writer out._


	14. Chapter 12: A Weapon Returned

_Here is some more stuff guys -Cloaked Writer_

* * *

 ** _Saleucami, RSD_ Fragment, _21 BBY_**

The rithmic chime of the monitor, and the soft whirring of the Medical Droid's metallic joints as it calmly yet quickly moved from patient to computer was maddening.

Clicker and Tusk had their helmets off, Clicker sitting down on the side of the bed with his head in his hands.

"How is he?" Tusk asked softly to the droid.

It turned slightly to the Commander.

"He is currently stable, but we are working hard to preserve the nerve endings in order to ensure that the implant will be successful, and to remove the requirement for a cybernetic implant." it droned in its slow yet syrupy voice designed to match the calm, stuffy atmosphere of the medical bay.

Clicker nodded slowly.

When an arm was severed from a Human, or some other species that cannot regrow their limbs, they need implants. If the cut is clean - hell, even it is *messy* - the droids can just put it on bacta and order a cybernetic to come around, and ensure that the nerve endings can be preserved.

But when the body's nerves are cauterized, as Shard's arm was, it was almost impossible to preserve the nerve endings except for expertly precise doctors or incredibly careful droids. When this happened, detailed surgery would be needed on the nerve systems.

General Shard awoke, his one good eye snapping open at his cybernetic eye's blaring alarm that could only be heard within his skull.

"Warning! Hostiles detected!"

He sat up, tensed to fight-

Only to see his eyes failsafe had simply been reset. It was just Clicker and Tusk, here to check up on him.

"How are you feeling, General?"

Shard opened his mouth to respond when he noticed something… off. Was it his stance? No, he was positioned-

No, it _was_ the stance.

 _He was sitting up with the aid of his right arm!_

The cybernetic implant was black, and made of a polished, flexible plate. The fingers were viciously pointed, likely opening up possibilities for close quarters combat, yet not too sharp to prevent usage of a computer system. He flexed his fingers, only to feel points retracting into the simple, stunted fingertips akin to a protocol droid.

 _Very_ useful.

"It will take some practice to use, Sir," the medical droid cooed, lifting a clawed hand as it approached.

"However, you are perfectly stable, but I would recommend a visit to Coruscant and their advanced medical facilities-" it continued, before being cut off by Clicker.

"The Droid's right. The Jedi wish to speak to you about the lightsaber. There is something… unusual about it, apparently. We will check in with the medical station, and then head to the temple." Clicker said enthusiastically.

Tusk rolled his eyes, which was not unnoticed by either Clone.

"Do you have something wrong with visiting the Jedi, Commander?" Sharp asked softly.

"It's just… permission to speak freely, General?"

"Granted."

"I have fought alongside you for several battles, and you showed true _care_ for your men. And with Ryloth, I am not so sure the Jedi have the same care you have. They don't have the willingness to commit to war. They fight with the hope of peace in their minds. That is now how to win wars quickly, Sir: That is how to draw them out."

"With respect, Commander," Clicker said, entering the conversation; his voice mechanized through the helmets vocalizer.

"I think you have yet to see the _good_ side of the Jedi. Mimban was an _isolated_ case that won't likely happen for the rest of the war. General Skywalker showed true daring and bravery on Geonosis, walking right alongside his men and stopping to save Snatch-"

"I will believe that when I see it. Mark my words, the Jedi will be the end of us. Only when Clones and able commanders take to the battlefield, will we be able to triumph."

"That is enough, both of you."

The pair of Clones stopped, looking to their commanding officer. Their helmets veiled their features, but it was clear they still were scowling through their view screens at one another.

"The Jedi have their shortcomings, but it pays to have them around. I would be dead if it weren't for Master Kenobi. While I have had my issues with the other Masters, they can be able leaders for the Grand Army of the Republic."

He stood, the blankets falling and revealing his body glove.

"But this is not up to us whether the Jedi stay or leave. That is up to the Senate, and the Chancellor, and it is our duty to serve them with our lives. Which ship are we on?"

Clicker pointed to the ceiling.

"The _Fragment_ , Sir. General Kenobi and Skywalker's forces are engaging General Grievous. They should be more than enough to capture him."

Shard stood, attaching pieces of his armor to his body glove as the medical droid handed them to him from the armory crate.

"I hope so. I'd have given my head if it meant that tin can was vaporized. Signal the bridge: Make course for Coruscant; again. Return to your troops, and inform the crew that we will not be staying home very long."

* * *

 _ **Coruscant, Jedi Temple, 21 BBY**_

"You see, General Shard…" Master Billaba said, gesturing to the lightsaber levitating in the center of the Jedi High Council tower.

The gross majority of the Council was in attendance, with more that two thirds present via hologram and the noticeable absence of Master Kenobi.

Shard had brought the seized weapon to the temple as soon as he underwent a cursory examination at the medical tower, confirming his assumptions that all was well and that the surgery was without error. He had expected to simply hand the weapon off, and it would be put on display in some case, or embedded in a marble pedestal to remember a fallen Knight.

The _last_ thing he expected was to be summoned to the High Council Chambers with a pair of tan robed Temple Guards as an escort. They did not bother disarming him at the entrance; he was known to them as a *General*, and they wouldn't remove the cybernetic weapon he now had in the place of his arm.

"This lightsaber is, _unique_ , to put it lightly." She said, looking to her fellow Masters for aid.

"The weapon of a fallen Jedi, that is." Master Yoda said darkly.

"Belong to Count Dooku, it did."

Shard started. _What?_

"How?" he managed.

"The venerable Count, and Head of State of the Separatists, was once a Jedi. He fashioned for himself a new lightsaber, if Master Yoda is not mistaken. He likely kept the older weapon as a momento, or as a gift to his General."

"His first weapon, that lightsaber likely is." Yoda continued.

"No place for such a thing do we have. Keep it you could, should you like."

"Perhaps you could honor it's reputation; that weapon has been bastardized with the blood of far too many Jedi to hold it in any place of esteem, or to place it with the Lost Twenty. May it serve you well, General." Mace Windu said calmly.

Shard's eyes widened once more as the lightsaber drifted towards him, but his resolve hardened as the metal fingers chimed as he grasped the weapon.

"I will put it to good use, Master Windu."

He bowed at the hip before being escorted to his ship.

* * *

He would spend the following months with some regularity, being gifted via transmission the various training regimens and fighting instructions from the Temple Archives, while his fleet launched brief raids into Separatist space.

However, the battle call was sounded, and the troops were armed.

Rishi had been assaulted; Kamino was their next target.

* * *

 _OK, finished this one. We got Kamino next :) -Cloaked Writer._


	15. Chapter 13: The Battle of Kamino

Hyperspace whipped past the viewports of The _Fragment_ as it raced towards Kamino, the entirety of the 300th not far behind.

The Kamino system spread out before them as the resounding chime indicated that they were converting to real space, light blues and brightest whites turning to a black to rival his armor. Shard gazed past his reflection, towards their objective.

Kamino; the Clone Homeworld.

Ninety-Nine Percent of all Clones came from that single planet, from dozens if not hundreds of factories and facilities.

The remaining one percent were those different troopers. Trained away from the others or on specific locations off-world by bounty hunters. The Special Forces. The Commando Squads.

The 300th.

The 300th fleet returned to real space alongside The _Fragment_ , causing Shard to lift his helmeted head in acknowledgment.

"Signal them to join up with the main defense. I am taking my ship to defend the outermost defenses on Korasa," he said to one of the deck officers.

"Yes, General." the man said - a Lieutenant if the colors of his rank insignia out of the corner of his visor were accurate.

Shard sighed, moving his hands from behind his back to his hip, where his new lightsaber rested.

He hoped he would not need to use it, but he had trained. He had studied.

He was prepared, to defend _his_ home.

* * *

"Shard!" Madam Nureion called upon seeing General Shard step from the shuttle towards her.

"It's so good to see you!" She said kindly, grasping him to her chest in a great hug, lifting the Clone off his feet.

"It is good to see you too, Mam." Shard said politely, charmed by the aging and eccentric scientist.

"What brings you here, Child? Are you bringing the boys for leave?"

"Sadly Mam, I am not. The war has come to Kamino."

Her eyes widened in shock.

"The Droids are coming _here_?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, Mam. However, I believe they will be more focused on the Planet rather than its moon, but I have stationed my ship within orbit in order to better protect it."

She cooed, reaching one long-fingered hand to the clone and gently caressing his face.

"How brave of you," She said with a smile that seemed to be specific towards the elderly of all races.

As Shard had predicted, the Confederate forces were focusing their efforts on the Clone Factory on Kamino, rather than the genetic laboratory on the moon of Korasa.

Yet, the reports were coming in rather… odd.

"Get me Kenobi." Shard said urgently into his wrist com as his shuttle left atmosphere.

* * *

"If that is Grievous, then something strange is going on. No commander wastes his ships like that and all this debris…"

" _I agree with you, General_." Master Shaak Ti said gravely.

"He has shields upon them, yet has seemed to focus their radius to only encompass vital areas of his ship, including the Blaster Cannons, hanger bay, and bridge. Why he would sacrifice them so… easily, is truly out of the ordinary."

"It must be a trick of some sort. It has to be. I will have my ships provide aid and attack their flanks, and maybe see if we can capture any information about their plans." Shard concluded solemnly to the holograms.

" _I don't see why you people are caring about this trash_ ," General Skywalker's voice chimed in from his Starfighter.

" _Only Obi-Wan ever cares about the ships I've already blown up. Study to your heart's content, Shard_."

* * *

 _Damn it all, Shard had been right_. Skywalker thought bitterly as he carved his way towards Ventress.

And it was partially his fault, what with Trident drills being constructed in the sea leaping onto the cities and disembarking troops for an invasion.

The 300th held their own - one of Shard's new toys managing to bring a trident under their control - and held back the western portion of the city with Skull Commandos aiding the surviving ARC divisions of Rancor battalion to destroy the remaining tridents.

And that, of course, led to the current predicament.

In the confusion, none other than Dooku's pet witch had managed to infiltrate the Genetic Library and was attempting to make off with the Fett DNA Cylinder; the one thing keeping the clones in production.

He leaped over the fallen leg of a fallen trident and landed hard on the hanger floor as he began his ferocious duel, going on the offensive as he pushed her farther and farther back towards the edge of the platform.

"Look, it's the General!" He heard a Clone call out, presumably so other troops could come to assist him.

A bit of help he would have _Loved_ to have had a bit earlier, but he was handling things perfectly now.

He landed a kick to the Sith Acolyte's stomach, sending her to the hanger floor as he reached out with the force to seize the DNA Cylinder.

Unfortunately, this act put the crazy bitch into a frenzy as she lunged forward with a yell, nearly knocking Anakin over due to her ferocity and his limited strength; he was after all limited to holding his weapon with one hand now.

With a mechanized yell, a dark figure with a blue lightsaber fell between them, surprising them both and putting Ventress back on the defensive.

Shard had learned his lessons well, fighting with a grace and fluidity attributed to Master Sinube and with a patient strength akin to Master Kenobi, with a powerful presence and deadly ferocity all his own bred from a fight for his people and for his brothers-in-arms.

By this time the regular Clones had arrived, she had crossed her blades in a defensive style and had her ankle nearly off the edge of the balcony.

"I suppose you want me to _surrender_?" Ventress asked sarcastically, taking a glance at what looked like a blinking red chrono.

"Actually, I was thinking of letting the Clones execute you," Anakin said with no small amount of malice.

"Not this time!" She hissed, using the force to shove the Clones back as she leaped into a Kaminoan Orb ship and made her escape.

Kamino was safe. As was Korsata.

While the casualties were great - and many leaders and well-known Clones of the home guard were lost including a well known janitorial worker who mentored the 501st, Kamino was safe.

But, the cost was high.

And the reason for it?

The Jedi.

It was at the insistence of a Jedi that they attack and break through the Separatist ships. While it was also true that it was also Jedi who found the trident ships, it was still a black mark.

One more reason for Commander Tusk to burn to relive the Jedi from duty.

Another reason for Clicker to show his men the better side of the Jedi.

And another day of contemplation of Shard.

For more battles were on the horizon. And the war, was anything but over.

* * *

 _Okayyyyyyyy It has been an age since I updated I know I know, college and working on my actual book (*gasp* what is this professionalism?) has been in the way of working on this. But, got some free time this week and am currently working on it. Got some stuff in the works, prepare for The Citadel Ark next (AND NOT A CENTURY LATER THIS TIME). Its a bit small because honestly, again the troops would reasonably have a part but the battle would have played out much the same way, just with Shard thrown in for dramatic effect. I will work on the Vampire one as well, but will be focusing on this one right now. Peace all and hopefully I get some stuff out before christmas -Cloaked Writer_


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